US utility NextEra Energy has raised its forecast for data center and other large-load demand at its Florida subsidiary, Florida Power & Light (FPL), to 8GW by 2032, up from a previous estimate of 6GW.

According to its latest earnings report, the company now has approximately 21GW of large-load interest in its pipeline, 12GW of which is in advanced discussions. The utility said some of the capacity could begin coming online in 2028 and expects to announce at least one large-load transaction under FPL's new tariff by the end of 2026.

“We continue to see a lot of interest in Florida and feel good about our ability to announce a large load transaction there by the end of the year,” said John Ketchum, CEO of NextEra Energy, on the company's second-quarter earnings call.

FPL's tariff was approved in November of last year and took effect on January 1, 2026. The tariff is specifically designed for large-load customers, particularly data centers, and seeks to ensure that large-load users pay for the infrastructure needed to serve them.

Ketchum also stated that the company would be expanding its national data center hub strategy. At present, the firm is discussing 30 potential hubs, with that number expected to rise to 40 by the end of the year. It is also targeting 15GW of new generation to serve large loads by 2035, with an upside case of 30GW or more.

The national data center hub strategy is part of a broader move to combine multiple power sources to meet the different stages of data center development. Ketchum said renewable generation could be deployed first, followed by gas-fired generation and battery storage.

“Speed-to-power solutions many times start with a renewable solution because we can get that on the market in 12 to 18 months quickly, then we're moving to gas, then we're moving to more battery storage to provide that redundancy behind the meter,” he said.

The utility also said that it is developing up to 9.5GW of gas-fired generation in Texas and Pennsylvania and is evaluating around 6GW of potential small modular reactor co-location opportunities at existing nuclear sites.

“There really aren't that many folks out there building new generation solutions, because it takes experience and it takes the ability to have all those vertically integrated skill sets come together,” he said.

In addition, according to reports from Reuters, NextEra is set to secure full ownership of the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear power plant in Iowa, which is tied to a long-term Power Purchase Agreement with Google. NextEra secured the remaining 30 percent stake in the 600MW plant from the Central Iowa Power Cooperative and Corn Belt Power Cooperative, which held 20 percent and ten percent shares, respectively. The company is currently restarting the shuttered plant, which is expected to be fully operational sometime in 2029.