NextEra Energy to build multiple data centers with Google Cloud
NextEra Energy (NEE) announced on Monday a "significant expansion" of its partnership with Google Cloud (GOOG) that will see the two companies develop "multiple" new gigawatt (GW)-scale data center campuses with accompanying generation and capacity.
The electricity company also said that it will be collaborating with Google Cloud on an "enterprise-wide digital transformation" through the latter's AI and infrastructure in order to help accelerate its own deployment of artificial intelligence.
The two companies will additionally be aiming to utilize technological innovations and AI developments in order to accelerate go-to-market initiatives. NextEra said that the aim of the collaboration with Google Cloud is to "transform the energy sector, supporting accelerated buildouts of data centers and the energy infrastructure supporting them."
The company's stock fell 3.1% on Monday, but made up some of those losses in after-hours trading. Its shares are up 12.4% for the year.
"Our partnership with Google exemplifies this very singular moment when energy and technology are becoming inextricably intertwined," NextEra Energy chairman and CEO John Ketchum said in a statement. "Together, we intend to build data center capacity and energy infrastructure at scale, advance cutting-edge technology and reimagine how energy companies operate."
NextEra noted in a press release that the first commercial product from the collaboration will be available in the Google Cloud Marketplace by mid-2026.
The work will focus on creating dynamic, AI-enhanced field operations and an initiative to strengthen the electricity grid.
The effort on field operations will combine Google's generative and agentic AI capabilities with NextEra's asset data in order for the latter to more accurately predict equipment issues and to proactively respond by navigating around any obstacles in the supply chain. It will also allow the company to manage its crews and any weather disruptions.
The two companies will also be utilizing Google's time-series open source forecasting model, weather forecasting model and security-constrained power flow modeling in order to enhance utility companies' grid management capabilities.
"Working with NextEra Energy to power our infrastructure growth further strengthens our long-standing collaboration and will help us meet increasing demand from our customers as they deploy AI technologies at scale," Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said in a statement. "By infusing NextEra Energy's deep domain expertise with Google Cloud's AI infrastructure, platform and models, we can together support the digital future of energy infrastructure."
As for the data centers, NextEra said that the companies will be building the GW-scale campuses across the United States. They are currently developing the first three campuses and are looking to identify additional locations to carry out their expansion plans.
NextEra and Google already have 3.5 GW in operation or contracted.
The companies announced in October that they plan to reopen Duane Arnold Energy Center, the only nuclear facility in Iowa. NextEra and Google signed a 25-year agreement to carry out its plans.
NextEra signed an agreement to acquire 100% ownership of Duane Arnold, while Google has agreed to purchase power from the 615-MW plant once it's operational in order to power its growing cloud and AI infrastructure in Iowa.
Shutdown in 2020, Duane Arnold is expected to be back online by the first quarter of 2029, pending regulatory approvals.