Dec 17 (Reuters) - U.S. utilities are finally signing concrete supply deals with data-center operators as the artificial-intelligence wave sparks a surge in power demand, paving the way for higher profits in the coming quarters.

Data centers are expected to account for 8% of the power generated in the U.S. by 2030, compared with 3% in 2022, according to a Goldman Sachs report in May.

Here are some deals announced by utilities in 2024:

Constellation Energy (CEG.O) , opens new tab signed an exclusive deal with Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab to restart one of the units at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

Under the agreement, the utility will provide 835 megawatts (MW) of energy to the tech giant's data centers. The deal would also mark the first ever restart of a nuclear power plant in the U.S. after it was shut down.

Ameren (AEE.N) , opens new tab signed a supply deal with a data center with a power capacity of 250 MW. It has also received expansion commitments and executed new contracts for more 85 MW of additional load for smaller data centers and other industries across Missouri and Illinois.

Alliant Energy (LNT.O) , opens new tab said it has executed multiple power supply deals with data centers, but did not disclose details.

Exelon (EXC.O) , opens new tab said it is in the engineering phase for more than 5 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity. Some data-center customers have also made deposits for ComEd - Exelon's subsidiary - to order transmission and breakers, the firm said during a post-earnings call.

American Electric Power (AEP.O) , opens new tab signed letters of intent to power an additional 15 GW of data centers by the end of the decade.

Xcel Energy (XEL.O) , opens new tab will supply power to Meta Platforms' (META.O) , opens new tab data center in Minnesota, expected to come online in late summer 2025.

Entergy (ETR.N) , opens new tab has received legislative approval for investment in transmission and generation to serve Amazon's (AMZN.O) , opens new tab upcoming Amazon Web Services (AWS) facility in Mississippi.

The utility has also signed a deal with Meta (META.O) , opens new tab to supply power to the Facebook-parent's hyperscaler data center located in Louisiana. The center would be Meta's largest data center in the world.

Pinnacle West Capital (PNW.N) , opens new tab has more than 4,000 MW of committed data center customers, not including the backlog of more than 10,000 data center requests it has received.

AES (AES.N) , opens new tab signed an agreement with Google (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab for 310 megawatts to support its Ohio data centers.

It further expanded a previously announced partnership with Google and signed a 15-year power purchase agreement for 727 megawatts in Texas.

Talen Energy (TLN.O) , opens new tab announced a deal to supply electricity and its 960 MW data center campus to Amazon's AWS in Pennsylvania.

NextEra's renewables segment saw a rise of 3 GW worth of renewables and storage projects in second quarter, including Google's 860 MW demand for its data center power.

NorthWestern Energy (NWE.O) , opens new tab has signed a letter of intent to provide energy services to a data center developer in Montana. The energy service load is expected to be a minimum of 50 MW beginning 2027 and would grow to 250 MW or more by 2029.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-utilities-signal-booming-demand-data-centers-ai-takes-root-2024-08-12/