NextEra and ExxonMobil Partner on 1.2GW Gas-Fired Plant for Data Centers
December 10, 2025
In a significant move to address the surging power demands of the artificial intelligence and cloud computing boom, major US power producer NextEra Energy has entered a partnership with oil and gas giant ExxonMobil to develop a 1.2-gigawatt natural gas-fired power plant dedicated to the data center sector. The collaboration underscores the industry's urgent pivot towards reliable, large-scale generation to support rapid digital infrastructure growth, even as it navigates the complex transition to lower-carbon energy sources.
The joint venture plans to construct the facility on a 2,500-acre site in the Southeastern United States, strategically located near ExxonMobil's existing carbon dioxide pipeline infrastructure. A key feature of the project is its integration with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology, positioning it as a potential model for lower-emission fossil fuel power for energy-intensive industries. The partners aim to market the proof-of-concept site to a hyperscale data center developer in the first quarter of 2026.
NextEra CEO John Ketchum highlighted the strategic rationale behind the project during an investor call, stating, “Based on our work with hyperscalers to date, we think this is going to turn out to be an attractive site, and there's more to come with ExxonMobil if we're able to prove out demand at this site.” This initiative is part of NextEra's broader strategy to build up to 15 gigawatts of generation capacity specifically for data center hubs by 2035.
To bolster its capabilities in this sector, NextEra also announced the planned acquisition of Symmetry Energy Solutions, a natural gas supply company that delivers approximately 1 trillion cubic feet of gas annually to over 5,500 large customers across 34 states. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2026. Concurrently, NextEra signed a memorandum of understanding with the Basin Electric Power Cooperative to explore a separate 1.45-gigawatt combined-cycle natural gas plant in North Dakota, designed to power a multi-gigawatt data center campus.
Brian Bolster, President and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, commented on the model, saying, "This structure where data centers essentially fund their own generation, which we are using nationwide... enables North Dakota to attract technology infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs and billions in economic impact." The announcements follow closely on a major partnership between NextEra and Google to develop several gigawatt-scale data center campuses.
The deal signals ExxonMobil's growing focus on the data center power market as a new growth avenue. The company had previously disclosed advanced talks to supply natural gas plants with CCS to tech firms and revealed plans for its own dedicated 1.5-gigawatt data center power plant, marking a strategic shift beyond powering its own operations.
Source: datacenterdynamics
NextEra and ExxonMobil Partner on 1.2GW Gas-Fired Plant for Data Centers
