NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum predicted that renewable energy demand will triple over the next seven years due to the rapid growth of data centers driven by artificial intelligence.

In the second quarter, NextEra added 3,000 megawatts of renewable and storage projects to its backlog, with 860 megawatts—28%—coming from agreements with Google to power its data centers.

Ketchum described this as the company’s second-best origination quarter ever, reinforcing their belief that future growth will largely rely on renewables and battery storage.

NextEra currently has seven gigawatts of renewable assets with tech and data center clients, NBC News has reported.

The company’s stock rose 3.5% in early trading, reflecting strong investor confidence, with shares up 24% year-to-date and 12% over the past three months.

Written by B.C. Begley