NextEra Energy, the United States' largest electricity company, projects deployment of 15 to 30 GW of new generation capacity dedicated to powering American data centres over the next nine years, addressing energy access constraints limiting artificial intelligence development, Reuters reports.

Power availability has emerged as the primary impediment to technology companies' artificial intelligence expansion, which requires energy-intensive data centres to train and deploy AI systems. Data centres previously connected easily to existing electrical grids, but their substantial and immediate energy demands increasingly necessitate construction of dedicated power plants.

Thirty GW represents sufficient capacity to power approximately 22 million homes, exceeding total residential consumption in California, the most populous American state. Much of the new data centre power generation is expected to utilise natural gas, with NextEra holding a pipeline exceeding 20 GW of gas-fired generation capacity, according to company presentations.

The Florida-based company operates through two divisions: NextEra Energy Resources, which develops renewable and natural gas-fired power projects, and Florida Power and Light, a regulated electric utility serving the state.

The announcement reflects broader industry trends as technology companies confront energy constraints whilst scaling artificial intelligence infrastructure. Major technology firms including Microsoft, Google and Amazon have announced substantial investments in power generation and data centre capacity to support AI development ambitions.

Data centre electricity consumption has surged as artificial intelligence workloads require substantially more computational power than traditional applications. Training large language models and running inference at scale demands continuous, reliable electricity supply, prompting utilities and technology companies to pursue dedicated generation projects rather than relying solely on existing grid capacity.

NextEra's generation expansion timeline extends through 2035, suggesting sustained data centre construction activity and energy demand growth throughout the period.

Review NextEra Energy's complete generation portfolio and data centre power supply strategy in the full story.