英国能源公司Drax计划将其位于北约克郡的生物质发电厂改造为数据中心，以满足人工智能日益增长的电力需求。1根据自然资源保护委员会(NRDC)的分析，该1.2GW数据中心将成为"最肮脏的数据中心之一"。1NRDC高级倡导者Matt Williams指出，这一项目每年需燃烧490万吨木材，产生860万吨二氧化碳排放，相当于盖特威克机场2024年全年排放量479万吨的近两倍。1
Drax表示该数据中心将从电网获得100MW电力，其余能源由自有电站提供，若获得必要许可，项目可在2031年全面运营。1目前已有315个数据中心排队接入英国电网，代表73GW的电力需求，几乎是英国冬季峰值能耗的两倍。1苏格兰议员曾在2024年9月投票暂停新数据中心规划申请长达一年。1
Energy company Drax plans to convert its biomass power station in North Yorkshire into a data centre to support artificial intelligence demands, according to analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) 1. The proposed 1.2-gigawatt facility would draw 100 megawatts from the grid, with the remainder supplied by Drax's own power generation 1.
The environmental impact of the project would be substantial. The data centre would require approximately 4.9 million tonnes of wood annually and produce 8.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, according to NRDC estimates 1. This output nearly doubles the annual emissions from all flights at Gatwick Airport, which totalled 4.79 million tonnes of CO2 in 2024 1. Matt Williams, a senior advocate at NRDC, characterized the facility as "one of the dirtiest data centres" 1. Drax has stated that with necessary approvals, the data centre could become fully operational by 2031 1.
The development reflects broader pressures on Britain's energy infrastructure. Approximately 315 data centres are currently queued to connect to the electricity grid, representing a combined demand of 73 gigawatts—nearly double the nation's peak winter energy consumption 1. In response to growing concerns, Scottish lawmakers voted in September 2024 to suspend new data centre planning applications for one year 1.
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