US utility company Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has seen data center demand across its coverage area swell to 18 percent of its total industrial load in 2025.

In the company's latest earnings report, its president and CEO, Don Moul, said that he expects “data center [load] to double in our region by 2030.”

Due to the increased load, Moul said that TVA aims to build 6.2GW of new generation assets.

“Growing energy demand on our system requires TVA to invest in new generation,” said Moul. “We have about 6.2GW of new generation planned, with more than 3.7GW of that actively under construction.”

The 3.7GW under construction includes the 1.5GW gas unit at the Cumberland Fossil Plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee, TVA’s largest coal asset, slated for retirement in 2026 and 2028. The gas plant is expected to come online later this year.

“We are also evaluating other new gas generation projects, and a new pumped hydro storage facility in north Alabama,” Moul said.

The company also said that it aims to ensure that the new generation needed to meet the increased data center load does not create rate pressure on other electric customers and consumers.

TVA provides electricity and manages natural resources across seven states, covering almost all of Tennessee, as well as parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.

In addition to its investments in new gas generation, the firm also said it is making investments across its nuclear resources.

“TVA is aligned with the Trump administration in expanding the U.S. energy supply,” Moul said. “We’re also working with the administration to innovate our nation’s energy supply.”

In December, the company received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the license of its 4GW Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant through the mid 2050s. At the same time, the company secured a $400 million Department of Energy grant to support the development of small modular reactors at the Clinch River Nuclear site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

TVA signed a 50MW PPA with SMR firm Karios last August to build the company's first commercial unit at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The PPA was the first signed under an agreement Kairos and Google inked last year, which saw the search giant commit to purchasing up to 500MW across six to seven reactors, set to be operational by 2035.