U.S.-based renewables firm NextEra Energy said its first-quarter net income rose 12% year-over-year to $2.27 billion and that it expects data centers to drive electricity demand higher.

The company has 3.5 GW in data center capacity operational and looks to add another 3 GW to 3.5 GW in its backlog from technology providers while seeing a 15% CAGR through the end of the decade for electricity demand from data centers.

“The re-domestication of industry to the U.S., supported by public policy, will drive the need for more electricity, and the tech industry is going to need data centers to support the expected cloud capacity demands that come with artificial intelligence applications,” said John Ketchum, NextEra’s Chairman, and CEO during a post-earnings conference call with analysts.

The Florida-based holding company for regulated retail utility Florida Power & Light (FPL) and renewables generation subsidiary NextEra Energy Resources posted an adjusted net income surge from $2.08 billion last year.

The quarterly revenue, however, dipped 14.6% to $5.73 billion from $6.71 billion last year, partly due to lower contributions from NextEra Energy Resources.

NextEra’s revenue in Q1 dropped 33% to $1.87 billion from $2.79 billion, while FPL’s revenue dipped 2% to $3.83 billion from $3.92 billion in Q1 2023.

The company’s renewables backlog grew at a rapid clip in the quarter. NextEra Energy Resources added about 2,765 MW of new wind, solar, and energy storage projects to its backlog, marking its second-best quarter ever. Meanwhile, FPL placed 1,640 MW of solar into service.

FPL, NextEra’s Florida utility business serving more than 12 million customers, reported a net income of $1.87 billion in Q1, up 9% from $1.68 billion in the prior year. FPL’s growth was driven by continued investments in the business, with capital expenditures totaling around $2.3 billion in the quarter and strong customer growth.

FPL’s average number of customers rose by more than 100,000 from the comparable prior-year quarter, marking its strongest quarter of customer growth in over 15 years.

Meanwhile, NextEra Energy Resources, which generates clean energy from solar, wind, and nuclear power, saw its adjusted net income jump by 13% to $828 million from $732 million last year. The company’s total renewables backlog now stands at 21.5 GW, making it one of the biggest renewable energy firms in the world.

Last year, NextEra said it would focus solely on growing its renewable energy portfolio and selling off its natural gas assets.

Its net income rose by more than 100% in the second quarter of last year, helped by the execution of growth initiatives by the company’s clean energy generation vertical.