PHOENIX, May 2, 2026, 12:04 MST
- Salt River Project and NextEra Energy Resources have struck a deal aiming to deliver 3,000 MW of solar power in Arizona by 2034.
- SRP said the planned buildout would provide capacity for roughly 595,000 homes across Arizona.
- The agreement comes while utilities scramble to boost generation capacity—pressured by data centers, expanding industry, and rising population.
NextEra Energy Resources has landed a deal to build 3,000 megawatts of fresh solar capacity for Salt River Project in Arizona, locking in another major contract as utilities across the U.S. scramble to shore up electricity supplies.
The timing is key here: SRP isn’t just maintaining its current setup, but pushing for a much bigger system. The Phoenix-area public power provider says this deal helps back its target of more than doubling its power-system capacity by 2035. Plans call for new solar, natural gas, and battery storage to maintain both reliability and affordability in service.
One megawatt (MW) is a unit of power capacity. According to SRP, plans call for 3,000 MW of new solar, which the utility says translates into enough power for roughly 595,000 Arizona homes. That rollout would add 500 MW of solar annually, starting in 2029 and continuing through 2034.
Bobby Olsen, associate general manager and chief power system executive at SRP, said the utility has to bring on new solar “at the pace required” to keep up with what customers want. NextEra Energy Resources president and CEO Brian Bolster called his company “uniquely positioned” to meet SRP’s requirements. SRP Newsroom
This latest agreement extends the partnership between SRP and NextEra Energy Resources. The two companies already have a track record: NextEra’s portfolio for SRP customers tops 1,000 MW spread over five projects, with names like Sonoran Solar Energy Center, Storey Energy Center, and Pinal Central Energy Center all in the mix.
NextEra’s pipeline keeps growing: the Arizona contract joins a string of fresh wins. Just this week, Reuters said Graphic Packaging Holding inked a deal with NextEra Energy Resources for a 250-MW solar project in Texas. That’s a virtual power-purchase agreement, linked directly to both companies’ renewable energy and emissions targets.
Utility rivals are feeling the squeeze. Dominion Energy, which operates in the U.S. power arena, disclosed Friday it had lined up close to 51 GW in data-center contracts as of March. Reuters noted U.S. power usage notched a second consecutive record in 2025 and is projected to climb further over the next couple of years.
NextEra brings heft to the table. It claims the title of North America’s largest electric power and energy infrastructure company, with Florida Power & Light under its wing, plus its development arm, NextEra Energy Resources.
The company’s newest earnings gave the market a clearer snapshot of its pipeline. According to Reuters on April 23, NextEra Energy Resources tacked on 4 GW of fresh renewables and storage to its backlog — that figure includes 1.3 GW of battery storage. That brings the backlog up to roughly 33 GW, which covers both contracted and planned projects still waiting to come online.
NextEra posted adjusted first-quarter earnings of $1.09 per share, topping the 96-cent consensus from analysts polled by LSEG. The company continues to project adjusted earnings of $3.92 to $4.02 per share for 2026, according to Reuters.
Solar isn’t the whole story for the company. NextEra is moving to wrap up deals on close to 10 GW of gas-fired power projects in Texas and Pennsylvania, all tied to surging data-center demand. Over at Florida Power & Light, the volume of data-center requests has swelled—now sitting at 21 GW.
Execution’s not a given here. SRP hasn’t named project sites or put out a price—just the broad plan—and that initial 500 MW won’t arrive before 2029. Permitting, interconnection, equipment prices, and potential pushback from locals could easily shift those dates. The utility emphasized this deal doesn’t replace its all-source procurement: other resources are still in the running for future capacity.
NextEra’s latest Arizona agreement hands the company another solar asset with a longer runway, aimed squarely at a state where utilities are scrambling for future capacity. This isn’t about immediate electricity. Instead, it’s a wager that Arizona’s surging demand will require hefty, locked-in solar commitments through at least the next decade.
