NextEra Energy is doubling down on its strategy of investing in gas to serve hyperscalers as its development pipeline remained fairly stable last quarter, according to its latest earnings report.
Executives said on a quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that they are still planning to deliver about 15 GW of new generation to data center power supply “hubs” by 2035, 6 GW of which will come from new gas-fired resources.
“I’ll be disappointed if we don’t double our goal and deliver at least 30 gigawatts through this channel,” said John Ketchum, CEO of the NextEra parent company.
NextEra Energy Resources, the company’s development arm, has also been on a bit of a buying spree for gas infrastructure lately. Company leaders said it had closed its acquisition of natural gas supplier Symmetry Energy Solutions on Jan. 9, and 10 days later bought a portion of Consolidated Edison's interest in the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
“We expect more gas-fired generation to be built across America — including by NextEra Energy — so having the ability to move molecules around the country is a critical skill set,” Ketchum said of the acquisitions.
In July, NextEra Energy Resources partnered with gas producer company Comstock Resources to build up to 8 GW of gas-fired generation to serve data centers in Central Texas.
Ketchum said he expects gas to play a key role in the company's new data center hub strategy, which aims to serve the needs of hyperscalers looking to construct their own power systems with a mix of new battery storage, gas and renewable generation projects.
“Energy Resources is laser-focused on positioning the company to where we see the large load market going — and that's to bring-your-own-generation,” Ketchum said. “And it makes sense given the affordability concerns across the U.S. Hyperscalers can solve that problem by bringing and paying for their own power generation and infrastructure.”
The company continues to invest in renewables, which “remain the lowest cost and fastest solution to meet our customers’ immediate needs,” Ketchum said. He added that the company has secured solar panels to meet its development expectations through 2029.
NextEra Energy Resources added 3.6 GW to its generation and storage backlog last quarter, nearly half of which was solar. The company’s backlog now stands at approximately 30 GW, Ketchum said.
Energy storage is also playing a key role in the company's recent growth, and storage projects now account for almost one-third of the project backlog. Five gigawatts of storage was added in 2025, Ketchum said.
Last year, the company placed over 2 GW of battery storage into service, increasing its annual battery storage build from 2024 by roughly 220%, said Chief Financial Officer Mike Dunne.
While NextEra continues to evaluate the potential for small modular reactors and new-build nuclear plants, Ketchum said the company would only move forward with such projects if they came with appropriate commercial terms and risk-sharing mechanisms. Beyond the retired Duane Arnold plant in Iowa, which NextEra plans to reopen with the help of a 25-year agreement with Google, the company has 1.7 GW of nuclear capacity on offer at its two other existing nuclear plants in New Hampshire and Wisconsin.
Florida Power & Light, a regulated utility owned by NextEra, added 90,000 new customers during the fourth quarter, according to its latest earnings report.
NextEra Energy has also entered into a new agreement with Google to begin developing and selling its own AI-powered software. The first product, which will use AI to enhance field operations, will be unveiled next month, according to Ketchum. He told analysts he was unconcerned by last month's news that Google had acquired Intersect, a developer of data centers and energy infrastructure, for $4.75 billion.
Company executives did not address a securities fraud class action lawsuit that was revived by an appeals court in November.
