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NextEra Energy (NEE), OPAL Fuels to Build Landfill RNG Plant

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NextEra Energy, Inc.’s (NEE - Free Report) subsidiary NextEra Energy Marketing, LLC along with OPAL Fuels LLC announced the Pine Bend RNG Project to build the first landfill renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility in Minnesota. The project is expected to be completed in first-quarter 2022.

The project will be managed by OPAL to clean renewable natural gas fuel  using landfill gas. This fuel will be dispensed through its natural gas fueling stations. The landfill owned by Republic Services, Inc. (RSG - Free Report) will be interconnected to a pipeline owned by Xcel Energy, Inc. (XEL - Free Report) .

Per agreement, both companies will work collectively to replace the existing power generation facility with a new RNG plant. This improvement will capture 3,200 standard cubic feet per minute of landfill gas, which will produce more than 6 million gas gallon equivalents (GGE) of RNG, annually.

Other Clean-Energy Efforts

NextEra Energy is making fresh investments in natural gas-fueled projects to lower its carbon footprint. Also, it is working consistently on its strategy of spending on clean-energy assets. The company now expects to be able to add 23-30 gigawatts of new renewables in the 2021-2024 time frame to the generation portfolio via clean-energy investments.

At present, NextEra Energy Resources has more than 13,500 Megawatt (MW) in the backlog of signed contracts, which provides a clear visibility to the ongoing expansion of its clean power generation. The utility’s 1,200-MW FPL Dania Beach Clean Energy Center, which is expected to come online in 2022, will be fueled by clean-burning natural gas that will boost clean generation. In addition, its 409-MW Manatee Energy Storage Center — which will be one of the world's largest battery 3 storage plants — is on track to be completed by this year end.

Transition in Energy Space

Utilities on their own are concentrating on generating more electricity from clean resources. The companies are now focused on producing more electricity from renewable agents and natural gas.

Per U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity consumption in the United States will rise 2.1% in 2021 after falling 3.8% in 2020. Moreover, the share of renewable energy sources in the overall generation will rise from 20% in 2020 to 21% in 2021 and 22% in 2022.

Some other utilities are also focused on lowering toxic emission by cutting down on production from coal units, replacing the same with clean-energy sources. Utilities like Xcel Energy and DTE Energy (DTE - Free Report) already set a target of net-zero emission by 2050.

Zacks Rank and Price Performance

The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the past month, shares of this utility have gained 3.9%, outperforming the industry’s 3.1% growth.

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