NextEra Builds Out Renewables, Sets Sights on Green Hydrogen

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) doesn't seem content to sit on its laurels in regard to project activity and is consistently at work on new undertakings and adding steadily to its backlog of renewable energy projects. After placing thousands of megawatts of power generation into service last year, the company continues to implement new renewable energy projects across the U.S. and is setting its sights on a new endeavor: green hydrogen.

Last year two of NextEra's primary subsidiaries, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), its Florida utility, and NextEra Energy Resources, its nationwide renewable energy arm, added more than 5,000 megawatts (MW) of renewables and energy storage into service. And the company's not stopping there. NextEra Energy Resources' renewables and storage backlog now stands at about 19 gigawatts.

FPL is meeting its renewable targets through the installation of several solar facilities with generating capacities of about 75 MW throughout Florida. Nearing completion is its Blackwater River Solar Energy Center in Santa Rosa County, in the western edge of Florida's panhandle. Construction kicked off last summer, and upon completion, the facility will use about 200,000 First Solar Incorporated (NASDAQ:FSLR) (Tempe, Arizona) panels on a single-axis tracking system to achieve nameplate generation of 74.9 MW. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for the full report.

NextEra Energy Resources is at work on wind and solar projects throughout the U.S. The company recently began construction on the High Banks Windfarm near Republic, Kansas. The facility will use more than 200 wind turbines to generate about 600 MW. The project is expected to be completed in late 2024. Subscribers can click here for more details.

Among the company's solar power projects is the Dunns Bridge solar project in northwest Indiana. Construction on the first part of the project is expected to be completed in the coming months and will use 900,000 solar panels to generate 265 MW. After completion of the first part of the project, construction on a second phase is set to begin. This will be an even larger undertaking, installing an estimated 1.5 million solar panels to achieve nameplate generation of about 435 MW. The project is expected to kick off this summer and be completed in late 2024. Subscribers can click here for the report on the Dunns Bridge I project and click here for the report on Dunns Bridge II.

But as NextEra achieves mastery in the U.S. renewable energy domain, it's moving on to the related sector of green hydrogen generation. In this week's earnings conference call, Chief Executive Officer John Ketchum said, "We are particularly excited about the potential for green hydrogen and the role it will play as a solution to help commercial and industrial customers cost-effectively lower emissions. We are building the algorithms and tools to identify and optimize the best green hydrogen sites around the country and leverage our significant interconnection and land inventory position."

Ketchum said that last week, NextEra had signed a term sheet for about 800 MW of new solar generation that is expected to support a green hydrogen facility in the central U.S. In Florida, FPL plans to support a 140-ton-per-day green hydrogen facility with its solar projects, and in the U.S. Southwest, NextEra is looking at building a 120-ton-per-day green hydrogen unit with industrial gases company Linde (NYSE:LIN) (Dublin, Ireland). Industrial Info will report on these projects as details unfold.

Despite its moves into the green hydrogen sector, NextEra is not neglecting its power project plans. Ketchum said NextEra Energy Resources had expectations to place into service 32,700 to 41,800 MW of new-build renewables and energy storage through the end of 2026.

NextEra reported fourth-quarter 2022 net income of $1.52 billion, compared with $1.2 billion in fourth-quarter 2021.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a look at the reports for all of the projects discussed in this article and here for the related plant profiles.

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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).