What changed
On October 6, 2026, the Guardian reported an emissions assessment by the Natural Resources Defense Council of Drax’s proposed AI datacentre in North Yorkshire. Using Drax’s 2025 annual report, NRDC estimated that constant year-round operation would require 4.9 million tonnes of wood and produce 8.6 million tonnes of CO2 annually. These are campaign-group projections, not measured emissions; the datacentre proposal was unveiled in 2025.
Why it matters
The assessment makes a concrete question about AI infrastructure visible: how much electricity a facility needs is only part of its environmental footprint. Its energy source, operating intensity and treatment of biomass emissions also matter. The dispute suggests that readers should examine those assumptions before accepting either a low-carbon description or a headline emissions estimate.
The caveats
Drax told the Guardian that NRDC’s assertions were inaccurate and not independently verified, disputing both biomass greenhouse-gas accounting and the potential datacentres’ power mix. The Guardian reports that the project has not entered the formal planning process; Drax says it could be fully operational from 2031 with the necessary consents. The retained reporting does not resolve the accounting dispute or establish the facility’s eventual emissions.
Go to the source
The original evidence behind this story. Read it for yourself.
Editorial record
Based on reporting by the Guardian’s Pippa Neill. The emissions estimates originate with NRDC; no independent emissions calculation was performed for this article.
AI-assisted reporting with automated source, novelty and image checks. Signal in Five is responsible for this publication. These checks can miss errors; no human review is claimed. The image is an editorial illustration, not evidence of the event.
Last updated .
Corrections
No corrections recorded.
Our corrections policy ↗