Power company Drax Group is looking for potential buyers within the data center market for energy from its biomass-fired plant in Selby, North Yorkshire, UK.

Drax has reported positive engagement with data center providers to the potential of colocated data centers with biomass generation.

“The growing demand for 24/7 power to meet the needs of data centers represents a potential opportunity for generators like Drax,” the company said in a statement.

Drax’s biomass units currently provide 2.6GW capacity, representing four percent of the UK's dispatchable capacity.

The company contends that no established technology can feasibly replace Drax’s biomass capacity by 2027 while ensuring the security of supply without significantly increasing carbon emissions.

Drax converted its Selby power station to biomass in 2021 and plans to upgrade with carbon capture, providing biomass energy with carbon capture and storage.

However, it was named a "scandal" by a 2022 BBC Panorama program, which revealed that the biomass it consumes is harvested from environmentally important forests in Canada.

In August, Ofgem closed its investigation into the Group’s biomass profiling data, confirming that it found no evidence that the company's biomass is not sustainable or that Drax has been issued renewable obligation certificates incorrectly.

Several data center operators have turned to biomass to power their operations. Most recently, in August 2023, PDG signed a renewable energy contract with PT Cikarang Listrindo Tbk to use its biomass-sourced energy in its Cibitung data center in Indonesia.