Xcel Energy has moved to lock in supply and development capacity for what could become 6 GW of data center load through separate strategic agreements with GE Vernova and NextEra Energy, announced this week, that reserve five F-class gas turbines, multiple gigawatts of wind capacity, and joint development resources to support generation buildout into the 2030s.
The Minneapolis-headquartered electric and natural gas utility serving eight states on Feb. 3 announced a strategic alliance with GE Vernova covering gas turbines, wind equipment, and grid technologies. On Feb. 4, it unveiled a memorandum of understanding with NextEra Energy focused on co-developing generation, storage, and interconnections to serve data center projects across Xcel Energy’s service territories.
Discussing the NextEra agreement on Xcel Energy’s Feb. 5 earnings call, Xcel chairman, president, and CEO Bob Frenzel said the collaboration is designed to deliver “increased clock speed” by combining the companies’ development, analytical, and commercial capabilities. “By engaging early with leading developers like NextEra, we can better anticipate system needs for new data centers, streamline development timelines, advance innovative grid technologies, and continue to provide the network benefits that data centers bring to all of our customers,” he said.
The parallel agreement with GE Vernova is designed to secure long-lead equipment and execution capacity as load growth extends into the next decade. “As a first step, Xcel Energy is purchasing five additional natural gas turbines from GE Vernova, bringing our total to 24 gas CTs on order across our vendors,” Frenzel said during the call. The company is also “bidding several gigawatts of wind projects with GEV turbines in our pending and upcoming RFPs,” he added.
GE Vernova Alliance Secures Gas and Wind Supply for Long-Term Buildout
Xcel Energy and GE Vernova signed a strategic alliance agreement (SAA) designed to support Xcel Energy’s generation and grid projects into the 2030s, according to a Feb. 3 announcement. The agreement includes a reservation agreement for five F-class gas turbines and a capacity reservation agreement to utilize multiple gigawatts of GE Vernova wind turbines in future projects, the companies said. The gas and wind turbines are manufactured at GE Vernova facilities in the U.S., according to the announcement.
The companies are also collaborating on grid equipment opportunities, building on a 2025 order for grid systems, including synchronous condenser technology, Xcel Energy said.
“As we work to meet our sustainability and grid modernization goals and seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to power our communities’ growing demands for energy, Xcel Energy is committed to collaborating with organizations who bring the best skills, innovation and expertise to our projects,” Frenzel said.
Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova, said the agreement will allow deeper strategic coordination between the companies. “This agreement allows us to collaborate more strategically, aligning our technology roadmaps and unique service capabilities with Xcel Energy’s vision. Together, we are better positioned to innovate and execute on projects that will provide reliable power for generations to come,” he stated.
The five F-class gas turbines covered by the Xcel Energy strategic alliance are not included in GE Vernova’s 83 GW of contracted gas turbines the company announced during its Jan. 28 quarterly earnings release, Xcel Energy said. During that call, Strazik noted that in the fourth quarter of 2025, “Gas Power equipment backlog and slot reservations increased from 62 to 83 GW sequentially, primarily due to strong U.S. demand,” and that GE Vernova expects to reach approximately 100 GW under contract in 2026.
NextEra MOU Targets Co-Development for Data Center Projects
Xcel Energy on Feb. 4 signed an MOU with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy to accelerate the delivery of generation resources to serve large load customers, including data centers, the companies said. The MOU represents an expansion of a long-standing commercial relationship between Xcel Energy and NextEra Energy, the companies said.
The parties expect to support existing and new large load opportunities across Xcel Energy’s service territories through improved collaboration on generation, storage, and associated transmission investments, Xcel Energy said. Xcel Energy expects this agreement will allow it to increase the data center demand that it can serve through the 2030s, the company said.
“Working with the right partners is critical to deliver on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet increased energy demand in our communities. This collaboration will align two of the best development teams in the industry to deliver reliable and affordable power for all Xcel Energy customers,” Frenzel stated.
John Ketchum, chairman and CEO of NextEra Energy, stated: “Across the country, energy demand from data centers, advanced manufacturing, and other large load customers is accelerating rapidly. This MOU reflects our shared commitment to proactively plan for that growth, using NextEra Energy’s leading digital tools to explore scalable, cost-effective and quick to deploy energy solutions that will also help ensure customers have access to cost-effective energy today and in the future.”
The agreement is not exclusive and is not fuel-type limited, Frenzel noted during the earnings call. Key commercial terms have been agreed to in the MOU, and a formal joint development agreement is expected to be executed in the coming months, the companies said. Any future projects would be subject to negotiation, agreement on definitive terms, and applicable regulatory approvals, Xcel Energy said.
Xcel Energy has been a 20-year partner with NextEra Energy, signing its first power purchase agreement with the company in 2006 and its first project sale agreement for a development transfer a decade ago, Frenzel stated during the call.
Data Center Pipeline and Capital Plan
Xcel Energy announced during the Feb. 5 earnings call that it has signed energy services agreements (ESAs) for more than 2 GW of data center capacity, including a recently signed ESA with a large data center in the Upper Midwest. The company’s goal for 2026 is an additional 1 GW, bringing total contracted data center service to 3 GW by the end of 2026 and 6 GW by the end of 2027.
“We doubled our data center expected contracted capacity from 3 GW to 6 GW. That 6 GW is contemplated across our system right now. You saw the one we just signed is focused on Upper Midwest,” said Brian Van Abel, executive vice president and CFO of Xcel Energy, during the call.
Van Abel stated that data center sales are expected to ramp in the 2029 to 2030 timeframe and into the 2030s, with generation investment ramping in the later part of this decade.
Xcel Energy released an updated 2026 to 2030 capital plan in 2025 that includes an initial 7,000 MW of company-owned renewables, natural gas generation, and storage across its states to transition its fleet and build for growth, Frenzel said during the call. Over the next five years, Xcel Energy expects to invest more than $60 billion to modernize and expand the grid, adding advanced transmission and distribution infrastructure, new natural gas and renewable generation, and smart, weather-hardened infrastructure, he said.
Xcel Energy has strategic agreements with multiple Tier 1 engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms across its portfolio of renewable natural gas generation projects, as well as transmission, distribution, and natural gas systems, Frenzel said. The company has safe-harbored equipment for approximately 20 GW of renewable generation and storage, preserving a significant volume of production and investment tax credits for the benefit of customers, he said.
During the call, Van Abel said that the company has a $10-plus billion pipeline of additional investment opportunities, including 10 to 12-plus GW of additional generation RFPs and transmission opportunities in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) and Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). In SPP, Xcel Energy was awarded another 765-kV transmission line, which provides line of sight to $1.5 billion of additional investment over the base five-year plan, Van Abel noted.
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
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