US energy generator NextEra Energy has partnered with energy equipment manufacturer GE Vernova to develop gas-fired generation to meet the energy demands of data centers.
In addition, the company is taking further steps to restart the idled Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear power plant in Iowa.
Both moves were announced to coincide with the release of NextEra's fourth-quarter and full-year financials.
NextEra CEO John Ketchum stated that the framework agreement with GE Vernova will occur over the next four years, and the companies will "collaborate to identify key locations on the energy grid that would benefit from new generation."
"This agreement has the potential to support multiple gigawatts for data centers, the reshoring of manufacturing, and the electrification of industry, as well as serve investor-owned utilities, municipalities, cooperatives, and commercial and industrial customers," Ketchum said.
The partnership will target large-load customers. According to the partners, it will offer an integrated solution of gas-fired generation, renewables, and storage that the partners would co-own equally and contract long-term by the customer.
"We could contemplate in the right situation with the right customer potentially a build-own-transfer on gas-fired generation as well if it was part of a larger transaction that included renewables and other growth opportunities," Ketchum said.
Referring to the 601MW Duane Arnold Energy Center, Ketchum said that the firm had asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a licensing change and expects to restart operations as early as the end of 2028.
Ketchum said the nuclear power plant, which operated for 45 years and shut down in 2020, will likely also supply power to data centers, though no contracts have been signed.
NextEra had initially floated the idea of restarting the station in its third-quarter earnings call.
However, Ketchum accepted that the restart would have a limited impact on meeting the expected increase in energy demand.
"That means we need renewables and storage to meet demand that is here today and, as we move towards the next decade, we can supplement renewables and storage with natural gas-fired generation," Ketchum said.
The announcements align with many utilities' "all of the above" approach, which involves seeking all available power generation to meet skyrocketing demand.
As a result, natural gas has gained increasing traction within the sector, with several power generators announcing investments in the market.
Earlier this month, a hybridized generation model utilizing gas power as a bridge to small modular reactor (SMR) development was announced. The MoU between Oklo and Rpower envisioned a three-stage approach. First, RPower would install natural gas generators over 24 months to meet the immediate power needs of data centers. Oklo SMRs will then be installed onsite when they become commercially available. Over time, the SMRs would supplant the natural gas generators, serving as backup.
