Renewable energy developer, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) is considering doubling its $20B investment in Texas, with the renewable energy company currently exploring land in the Permian Basin for development, Michele Wheeler, VP of regulatory and political affairs, revealed at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. Projections for the Lone Star state–the biggest power producing state– see a doubling of electricity demand by 2030.

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Earlier this week, NextEra CEO John Ketchum said that power plants fueled by natural gas cannot fully meet the electricity demand growth forecast for the U.S. through the end of the decade. NextEra Energy, the top U.S. developer of wind and solar generation, has predicted a 55% jump in power demand over the next 20 years–a much faster growth clip than the 9% growth record over the past two decades. According to Ketchum, ~75 GW of gas-fired generation could be built by the end of 2030E in a best-case scenario, good for a mere 16% of the 460 GW needed overall. Ketchum says the U.S. should lean on renewables to provide the majority of that supply, ~350 GW, and also delay the retirement of existing coal plants.

“It’s all of the above: We need renewables, we need gas, we need nuclear,” Ketchum said. “It’s all gonna come in at different times and it’s all gonna come in at different cost profiles, but let’s not just go and make decisions that force us into one technology.”

Last year, NextEra revealed that it’s evaluating the possibility of reopening its Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa amid growing interest from data center companies. According to Ketchum, Duane Arnold’s boiling water reactor makes it easier to restart and operate economically compared to other nuclear power plants. However, Ketchum said he was “not bullish” on small modular reactors (SMRs), adding that the company’s in-house SMR research unit has so far not drawn favorable conclusions about the technology.

“A lot of [SMR equipment manufacturers] are very strained financially,” he said. “There are only a handful that really have capitalization that could actually carry them through the next several years.”

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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