Drax has highlighted electricity system flexibility as a growing requirement for data centres, arguing that meeting rising artificial intelligence (AI) demand will require more than additional power generation. Energy storage, flexible generation and smarter electricity management will be needed to balance changing demand and maintain reliable supply.
Data centres have become critical infrastructure in the UK, with the government granting them the same status as water, energy and emergency services in 2024. Their growing importance has increased the focus on energy security, particularly as AI applications require more electricity and geopolitical tensions expose vulnerabilities in supply chains.
The challenge extends beyond the total amount of electricity required. AI workloads can cause rapid changes in data centre power consumption as computing activity increases, pauses and resumes. Although average daily demand may appear relatively stable, individual facilities can experience fluctuations of hundreds of megawatts over short periods.
These variations create additional demands on electricity networks, which have traditionally been designed around more predictable consumption patterns. As AI infrastructure expands, the ability to balance supply and demand in real time is becoming increasingly relevant to data centre operators and energy providers.
Drax argues that a resilient electricity system will need a combination of technologies rather than reliance on a single source of power. Renewable generation can provide electricity when conditions are favourable, while dispatchable generation and storage can help meet demand when output falls or consumption rises.
Battery energy storage systems can capture surplus electricity for use during periods of higher demand. Pumped storage hydro offers another means of storing energy, while dispatchable power stations, including biomass and natural gas facilities, can increase output when required.
Drax Group plc (LON:DRX), trading as Drax, is a power generation business. The principal downstream enterprises are based in the UK and include Drax Power Limited, which runs the biomass fuelled Drax power station, near Selby in North Yorkshire.
