NextEra Energy works with Exxon Mobilthe country's largest oil company, plans to build a large natural gas-powered data center site for a potential technology customer, CEO John Ketchum told investors on Monday
The 1.2 gigawatt power plant would combine gas generation with Exxon's carbon capture technology to reduce emissions, according to NextEra's presentation to investors.
They plan to market the site to a hyperscaler in the first quarter of 2026. Hyperscalers are the large technology companies that build data centers to train and run artificial intelligence applications. There is no signed agreement with a hyperscaler yet.
NextEra and Exxon have secured 2,500 hectares of land for the facility. According to NextEra, the Southeast location will be in close proximity to Exxon's carbon dioxide pipeline infrastructure.
Shares of NextEra closed about 3% lower on Monday.
Exxon declined to comment on the partnership, but said that “projects are progressing and we value our partners who add strategic value.”
A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that the project is a memorandum of understanding that is still in its early stages.
The oil company announced last year that it would develop natural gas solutions for data centers. CEO Darren Woods said in October that Exxon was in advanced discussions with potential customers and partners about data centers.
NextEra is the largest renewable energy developer in the U.S., but is relying on natural gas to meet growing data center needs. The utility plans to bring up to 8 gigawatts of gas generation online by 2032 and is developing a pipeline with 20 gigawatts of gas generation.
NextEra plans to build 15 gigawatts of power for data center hubs by 2035, Ketchum said. This includes at least three data center campuses that NextEra works with alphabetis Google.
“A lot of this will start with what I call bridge power – renewables, storage,” the CEO said. “At the same time, we plan for the gas to come behind it.”
In order to achieve its climate goals, the technology sector has primarily secured renewable energies and, increasingly, nuclear power to supply data centers.