NextEra to build 15 gigawatts of power for data centers by 2035

NextEra Energy They plan to install 15 gigawatts of new power generation for data center centers by 2035, CEO John Ketchum told investors on Monday.

NextEra, through NextEra Energy Resources, is the largest developer of renewable energy in the United States and also owns Florida Power & Light. The utility also operates a fleet of nuclear and natural gas-fired power plants.

NextEra also announced a partnership Alphabet‘s Google unit will develop a three-gigawatt-scale data center campus in the United States on Monday and plans to expand to additional locations.

According to the Energy Information Administration, one gigawatt is roughly equivalent to more than 800,000 homes based on average home electricity consumption in 2024.

Ketchum said 15 gigawatts of power for data center centers is a “pretty conservative” target.

“Frankly, based on what we’re seeing today, we’ll be disappointed if we don’t do more,” Ketchum said at NextEra’s investor conference. He said that there is a potential to produce 30 gigawatts of new generation by 2035.

Ketchum said data center centers will use all kinds of energy. NextEra announced in October a deal with Google to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa through a power purchase agreement.

Ketchum said the data center hubs will help NextEra meet its goal of generating four to eight gigawatts of new gas generation by 2032 and many more by 2035. NextEra is developing a pipeline for 20 gigawatts of gas production.

Ketchum acknowledged that the huge power demand from AI data centers raises affordability concerns. The solution, he said, is for big tech companies to bring their own energy production with them when they commit to building a data center.

“Hyperscalers can solve this problem by bringing in and paying for their own power generation and infrastructure,” the CEO said.