Drax: Yorkshire power station operator to create dedicated solar and wind segment after Bluefield acquisition
North Yorkshire power station operator Drax has said it intends to create a dedicated solar and wind segment after the company last month acquired renewable infrastructure investor Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF).
Drax completed the £561m takeover of Bluefield in July as part of efforts to broaden its range of power generation.
Speaking in July, Drax Group CEO Will Gardiner described the deal as “transformational” for the company, with the move adding solar and wind assets to the firm’s generation portfolio for the first time.
In its latest trading update Drax said that it “expects to operate BSIF as a dedicated Solar & Wind segment within the group, alongside its Flexgen and Biomass businesses.”
Mr Gardiner added in the update: “We are investing for the future in UK energy security, growing our megawatts under management and transitioning Drax into a broader business at the heart of the UK energy system, whilst keeping the lights on for millions of households across the country.
“The addition of BSIF brings significant benefits to the group and the integration is going well. Alongside the rest of our portfolio, BSIF gives us a fantastic opportunity to grow our asset base and system services further.”
It comes as Drax is also forging forward with plans for a potential large-scale datacentre at its North Yorkshire site.
The company said it was "continuing to develop” a planning application for the first phase of the data centre, which it aims to submit to the planning authorities “in the coming months”.
The first phase of the plan will involve a roughly 100MW “front-of-the-meter” data centre.
Plans for the data centre came in the wake of the company indefinitely shelving its carbon capture and storage scheme at the North Yorkshire site.
The firm’s 2025 results, published in February, included a £48m impairment charge relating to the lack of further progress on BECCS. The report stated: “Whilst UK BECCS is still an attractive option for the group in the long term, the current political environment and absence of an appropriate regulatory framework has led to a reduction in the likelihood of the project proceeding in the short to medium-term. Accordingly, the capitalised value has been impaired.”
Mr Gardiner told The Yorkshire Post in March "BECCS was a really important idea for carbon removals but also to ensure the longevity of the power station. The data centre is a newer idea and we think it is going to be pretty exciting.”
In April, Mr Gardiner also said that Drax was at a "key moment of transition in our business and in the UK's energy system”, after the firm committed around £500m to battery energy storage system schemes.
Drax also lifted its profit outlook for the year in its latest trading update, after demand for electricity was boosted by the summer heatwave.
Mr Gardiner said strong recent trading continued into the second half of 2026 as its facilities “helped meet power demand through the summer heatwave, turning up and turning down as required to help balance the system”.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) issued four call-outs for additional power supply during the summer, with most of these linked to soaring temperatures.
Drax told shareholders that it delivered a “strong performance” in July and August, adding that it now expected adjusted earnings for 2026 to be “around the top” of forecasts.
The company said its results were also boosted by its acquisition of BSIF.
Drax shares were up 0.8 per cent on Thursday at 826p in early trading.