In its Q3 2023 earnings call, NextEra Energy, a prominent Florida-based energy firm, disclosed a net income of $1.2 billion, signaling a year-on-year decline of approximately $400 million. The dip in earnings was attributed to the company's substantial addition of “record” new renewable energy generation capacity to its backlog.
The renewables generation arm of NextEra Energy, known as NextEra Energy Resources, experienced a net loss of $230 million in Q3, in contrast to the net income of $655 million in the corresponding period of 2022. Adjusted earnings for the same quarter amounted to $882 million, marking a significant increase from the $729 million reported in Q3 2022.
Notably, NextEra Energy Resources achieved a remarkable milestone by adding 3,245 megawatts (MW) of new renewable generation and storage capacity to its backlog during the quarter. This achievement was hailed by CEO John Ketchum as the “best renewables and storage origination quarter in its history.”
Breaking down the 3,245 MW addition, it included 1,485 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, 905 MW of storage capacity, 400 MW of wind energy, and 455 MW of wind repowering assets. Furthermore, over 1 gigawatt (GW) of new projects were brought into service since the previous quarter.
For context, in Q1, NextEra Energy Resources added approximately 2,020 MW of generation and storage capacity to its backlog, followed by 1,665 MW in Q2.
One of the flagship projects in NextEra's backlog is the 400 MW Sebree solar PV farm in Kentucky. In August, the company secured a 250 MW power purchase agreement (PPA) with U.S. steel manufacturer Nucor.
In contrast, Florida Power & Light (FPL), the electricity utility business under NextEra, reported a net income of $1.18 billion for Q3 2023, reflecting a year-on-year increase of just over $100 million from $1.07 billion. FPL's capital expenditures in Q3 reached approximately $2.6 billion, with expectations of full-year expenditure falling within the range of $9 to $9.5 billion.
NextEra Energy's CEO, John Ketchum, expressed satisfaction with the company's performance, emphasizing, “NextEra Energy continued its strong execution during the third quarter and has delivered adjusted earnings per share growth of approximately 10.8% through three quarters.”
The company's commitment to its long-term financial targets remains steadfast. As previously stated in its Q2 call, FPL anticipates a capital investment of between $32 billion to $34 billion through 2025, with substantial allocations of around $10 billion for solar capacity additions and approximately $15 billion for transmission development. In a decarbonization strategy outlined last year, NextEra announced its ambition to deploy 90 GW of solar PV by 2045, a substantial portion of which is intended to be channeled through FPL.
