NextEra Energy Resources last week signed a term sheet for approximately 800 MW of new solar capacity that will support a green hydrogen facility in the central US.
The project, anticipated to reach COD in 2026, is an example of the type of clean energy initiative that NextEra expects to pursue amid surging customer demand for large-scale renewables projects, including for green hydrogen, NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum said on today’s earnings call.
“We are building the algorithms and tools to identify and optimize the best green hydrogen sites around the country and leverage our significant interconnection and land inventory position,” Ketchum said. The company plans to use its position as an incumbent to participate in the emerging clean hydrogen market “in a big way,” he added.
NextEra Energy Resources is also participating in hydrogen hubs in the Southeast and Southwest, both of which were encouraged by the Department of Energy to submit full applications to an $8bn federal funding program.
In the Southeast, the company is working to build a 140-tons-per-day clean hydrogen facility at its Gulf Clean Energy, in Escambia County, Florida, Ketchum said. The project would be powered by Florida Power & Light solar projects.
For the Southwest hub, the company has partnered with Linde to build a 120-tons-per-day green hydrogen facility in Arizona, which would support decarbonization of the West coast mobility and industrial end markets.
“These are just a few examples of the clean hydrogen opportunities our team is actively pursuing,” Ketchum said. “We continue to work with various partners on hydrogen solutions and we are excited by both the number and scale of the opportunities in front of us.”
Hy expectations
NextEra Energy Resources expects to build between 32.7 GW – 41.8 GW of renewables and storage projects between 2023 and 2026 amid enormous demand for renewables, with a boost from the expected benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, Ketchum said.
“To put these numbers into context, just executing at the low end of our new development expectations through 2026 would more than double the size of our current renewables and storage operating portfolio, which took us more than 20 years to complete,” he said.
The 800 MW term sheet signed for solar at the hydrogen project in the central US was not counted as part of this total. But it shows how green hydrogen is starting to impact the company’s outlook for its renewables build-out in the second half of the decade.
Rebecca Kujawa, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources, said the company is working to put the right development opportunities together and forge partnerships in “a very active market.”
“I think [2026] is probably on the earlier side of what we ultimately see as a significant ramp-up going into the end of the decade,” she said, when there’s more clarity on customers for green hydrogen and more opportunity for supply of electrolyzers and other key equipment.
