英国的人工智能基础设施热潮可能很快会迎来一个意想不到的新家：德拉克斯发电站。这座英国最大生物质发电厂的运营商周二公布了一项价值200亿英镑的数据中心开发计划，该设施有望消耗超过1吉瓦的电力。
Britain's AI infrastructure boom could soon have an unlikely new home: Drax Power Station, where the operator of the country's largest biomass power plant has unveiled plans for a £20 billion datacenter development capable of consuming more than a gigawatt of power.
德拉克斯宣布，已与投资巨头布鲁克菲尔德及其英国人工智能基础设施业务部门Radiant组队，拟在其北约克郡厂址建设该设施。资金将通过布鲁克菲尔德与卡塔尔Qai的合资企业提供，尽管200亿英镑的标题数字目前更多是雄心壮志，而非已到位的实际资金。
Drax announced on Tuesday that it has teamed up with investment giant Brookfield and its UK-based AI infrastructure business Radiant to build the facility at its North Yorkshire site. The money would come through a joint venture between Brookfield and Qatar's Qai, although the £20 billion headline figure is more ambition than actual money on the table at this stage.
公司计划先从相对较小的规模起步，至少以人工智能行业似乎无底洞般的用电胃口为标准来看是如此。第一阶段拟于2028年初交付高达100兆瓦的容量，拟投资25亿英镑。第二阶段可在2028年至2031年间再增加500兆瓦，此后进一步扩建将使该厂址容量超过1吉瓦。
The companies plan to start relatively small, at least by the standards of the AI industry's apparently bottomless appetite for electricity. The first phase would deliver up to 100MW of capacity by early 2028, backed by a proposed £2.5 billion investment. A second phase could add another 500MW between 2028 and 2031, with further expansion taking the site beyond 1GW after that.
然而，从今天的公告到一个运行中的人工智能超级工厂，仍有几道坎。根据德拉克斯的监管申报，第一阶段仍需获得规划许可、监管和电网批准、商业协议以及最终投资决定。还需要一个租户，这在提议斥资数十亿英镑建设一个容纳他人计算机的场所时，是一个相当关键的细节。
However, a few hurdles remain between today's announcement and a functioning AI megafactory. According to Drax's regulatory filing, the first phase still requires planning permission, regulatory and network approvals, commercial agreements, and final investment decisions. It also needs a tenant, which is a fairly important detail when you're proposing to spend billions on somewhere to house other people's computers.
德拉克斯认为，其现有基础设施使其比那些难以获得电力接入的开发商更具优势。这个占地1000英亩的厂址已拥有4吉瓦的电网接入容量、2.6吉瓦的在役发电容量和冷却基础设施，且靠近英国的光纤网络。英国政府上周估计，英国现有的所有数据中心用电量约为2吉瓦。德拉克斯拟建的开发项目单独来看，最终可能需要超过1吉瓦的电力，尽管实际消耗多少将取决于其利用率。
Drax reckons its existing infrastructure gives it an advantage over developers struggling to secure electricity connections. The 1,000-acre site already has access to 4GW of grid capacity, 2.6GW of active generation and cooling infrastructure, along with proximity to the UK's fiber network. The UK government estimated last week that all of Britain's existing data centers use around 2GW of electricity. Drax's proposed development alone could eventually need more than 1GW, although how much power it actually consumes will depend on how fully it's used.
第一阶段将从电网取电，但Drax希望根据长期购电协议，直接利用其现有发电能力提供高达500兆瓦电力，这可能使AI服务器得以使用燃烧进口木屑颗粒产生的电力运行。这带来了另一个复杂因素。Drax去年与政府签署了一份差价合同，涵盖2027年4月至2031年3月期间的生物质发电。该协议允许公司申请许可，将高达500兆瓦的产能重定向用于数据中心，但需经部长们和低碳合同公司同意，并综合考虑消费者价值、能源安全和可持续性。
The first phase would draw electricity from the grid, but Drax wants to supply up to 500MW directly from its existing generating capacity under a long-term power purchase agreement, potentially allowing AI servers to run on electricity produced by burning imported wood pellets. That brings another complication. Drax signed a government-backed Contract for Difference agreement last year covering biomass generation between April 2027 and March 2031. The agreement allows the company to request permission to redirect up to 500MW of capacity towards a datacenter, but ministers and the Low Carbon Contracts Company would have to agree, taking into account consumer value, energy security, and sustainability.
此次宣布之际，政府和业界圈子之外，对于巨型AI服务器农场的热情并不那么高涨。大西洋两岸对数据中心开发的反对声浪日益高涨，社区对电费账单、用水量以及工业规模设施对周边环境的影响表达担忧。一项近期调查发现，在2024年7月至2026年6月期间，企业占英国部长们会见的数据中心利益相关方的84%，而环保团体获得的会面机会恰好为零。
The announcement also arrives as enthusiasm for enormous AI server farms is proving rather less universal outside government and industry circles. Opposition to data center developments has been growing on both sides of the Atlantic, with communities raising concerns about electricity bills, water consumption, and the impact of industrial-scale facilities on their surroundings. A recent investigation found that businesses accounted for 84 percent of the stakeholders UK ministers met to discuss datacenters between July 2024 and June 2026, while environmental groups secured precisely zero meetings.
Drax及其合作伙伴承诺设立社区受益基金，并表示公众咨询将于本月开始。这能否安抚担心又一个巨大电力消费者的居民，尚属未知之数。Drax首席执行官Will Gardiner表示，该项目有助于“保障该场址的长期未来并保护数百个就业岗位”，同时支持英国成为AI主要参与者的雄心。政府理所当然地表示热情。财政部首席大臣Emma Reynolds欢迎这项拟议投资，称其为创造就业和支持英国再工业化的机遇。
Drax and its partners are promising a community benefits fund and say public consultation will begin this month. Whether that will reassure residents concerned about another enormous consumer of electricity is a moot point. Drax CEO Will Gardiner said the project could "help secure the long-term future of the site and protect hundreds of jobs," while supporting Britain's ambitions to become a major player in AI. The government, unsurprisingly, is enthusiastic. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds welcomed the proposed investment as an opportunity to create jobs and support Britain's reindustrialization.
“此类投资将有助于为英国再工业化的新时代铺平道路，在约克郡创造优质就业岗位，并为全国各地带来增长，”她表示。部长们或许充满热情，但Drax仍需寻找客户、获得规划许可并说服监管机构，然后才会有人开始接入服务器。 ®
“Investments like this will help pave the way to a new age of British reindustrialization, creating good jobs in Yorkshire and delivering growth right across the country,” she said. Ministers may be enthusiastic, but Drax still has to find a customer, secure planning permission, and convince regulators before anyone starts plugging in servers. ®