NextEra Upbeat on Future for U.S. Renewables as Backlog Grows

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Despite a strong push for more fossil fuel-based energy from U.S. President Donald Trump, NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) remains optimistic about the future of U.S. renewable-energy development. Executives pointed to strong demand across the U.S. during the first quarter, when it added about 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of new renewables and storage to its backlog. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$84 billion worth of active and proposed projects from NextEra, more than half of which is attributed to solar-energy projects.

<i>Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 U.S. states for NextEra projects, by total investment value.

While NextEra is known for its extensive buildouts in Florida, California and the Texas Gulf Coast, one of its biggest projects is in the Heartland: the $814 million Pierce County Energy Center in Pierce, Nebraska, a 420-megawatt (MW) solar plant that features a 170-MW battery energy-storage system (BESS). The project, which is expected to be brought online in mid-2027, will source its solar panels from Hanwha Q Cells (Seoul, South Korea) and its lithium-ion battery technology from AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington, Virginia).

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project and Plant databases can learn more from a detailed project report and plant profile.

Last year, Alphabet Incorporated (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (Mountain View, California), the parent company of Google, signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with NextEra to source energy from the Pierce County plant for one of its facilities. For more information on this and other deals for renewable offtakes, see November 21, 2024, article - Report: Corporate Giants Offtake Record Levels of Solar and Energy Storage.

NextEra's other projects in the central U.S. include two solar plants in eastern Arkansas, both expected to wrap up in the fourth quarter: the $250 million Flat Fork Plant in Wheatley and the $250 million Forgeview Plant in Blytheville. Each plant will generate 200 MW from photovoltaic (PV) panels provided by First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona). Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Flat Fork and Forgeview projects.

In a quarterly earnings-related conference call, John Ketchum, the chairperson of Florida Power & Light (FPL), a subsidiary of NextEra, championed renewable energy in the face of an aggressive push from federal authorities for fossil fuel-based power generation: "Today, renewables and battery storage are the lowest-cost form of power generation and capacity. And we can build these projects and get new electrons on the grid in 12 to 18 months. We should be thinking about renewables and battery storage as a critical bridge to [a later point in time] when other technology is ready at scale, like new gas-fired plants."

FPL is putting the final touches on the $85 million Big Water Solar Energy Center in Okeechobee, Florida, and recently started site preparation for the $85 million Woodyard Solar Energy Center in Clewiston, Florida. The projects are situated on the north and south sides, respectively, of Lake Okeechobee, and each is expected to generate 74.5 MW from 250,000 PV panels. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Big Water and Woodyard projects.

Ketchum acknowledged the important role of fossil fuels in the U.S. power mix, but insisted renewables enjoy an edge in investment and immediacy: "We expect 75 gigawatts of new gas[-fired power] to come online between now and 2030. That is significant, for sure, but nowhere close to meeting the over 450 gigawatts of total generation we believe are needed. It's also important to understand that gas-fired plants will come online at a higher cost than renewables and storage. That's because gas turbines are in short supply and in high demand."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed project reports for active and proposed projects from NextEra.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).