Further details expected in its Q2 earnings report
Houston-based energy firm NRG Energy is working on a number of deals to power data center projects.
Details are expected to be revealed during the company’s Q2 results sometime in August, but its CEO, Larry Coben, noted that they would be located “all over the country."
During an interview with Bloomberg TV, Coben said that NRG would utilize all forms of its energy portfolio, including natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind, hydropower, and battery energy storage to power the facilities.
Coben said that the data centers would likely be powered by assets acquired by NRG in May from LS Power. The energy firm purchased LS Power’s generation portfolio in a $12 billion deal, expected to close in Q1 of next year.
The acquired assets include 18 natural gas generation facilities with a combined capacity of 13GW, and a virtual power plant platform - dubbed CPower - with 6GW of capacity, located across the Northeast and Texas.
NRG has increasingly targeted the data center market as a crucial energy offtaker. In February, the firm penned letters of intent with two data center developers, PowLan and Menlo Equities, to develop 500MW and 300MW of gas power generation, respectively.
In addition, it signed a project development agreement with power equipment manufacturer GE Vernova and construction firm TIC to develop up to 5.4GW of natural gas generation. The four plants will serve the ERCOT wholesale market in Texas and the PJM Interconnection wholesale market to meet demand from the data center sector.
Late last year, the company partnered with Renew Home and Google Cloud to create a 1GW virtual power plant in Texas.
NRG has a diversified portfolio of assets, including natural gas, coal, oil, nuclear, wind, and solar. It serves more than seven million retail customers across 24 US states, including Texas, Connecticut, and Ohio.
