The leaders of Xcel Energy Inc. expect to sign contracts with data-center operators for a total of 6 gigawatts of capacity between now and the end of next year. That figure is double their most recent estimate, which they gave last month.

Speaking to analysts on Feb. 5 after Minneapolis-based Xcel reported

fourth-quarter earnings of $567 million

(up from $464 million in late 2024) on total revenues of nearly $3.6 billion, CFO Brian Van Abel said the company’s teams are working on “some really good opportunities” across Xcel’s eight-state footprint. But, he added, the geographic focus in the near term is likely to be on the Upper Midwest, where Xcel operates Northern States Power Co.-Minnesota and Northern States Power Co.-Wisconsin.

“We expect to have these contracts signed by the end of 2027,” Van Abel said. “The construction cycle, a lot of those may come in kind of that ’29-type period. And then it’s really about energizing in 2030 and the early 2030s and about extending our capital investment opportunity, our generation need.”

Xcel has signed energy service agreements for data centers to use 2 gigawatts of capacity, Van Abel said, and are on track to grow that number to 3 gigawatts by year’s end. Doing so will have Xcel hit the 2026-2027 goal executives said in January they were targeting for capacity either under contract or considered a high probability of getting there.

Now, Van Abel and Chairman, President and CEO Bob Frenzel have grown their high-probability pipeline to about 4 gigawatts from 1.7 gigawatts last month. Adding those projects to Xcel’s territories will give the company a chance to extend its strong rate base growth pace, which Frenzel and Van Abel are forecasting will average 11% through 2030.

Helping enable that growth, Frenzel said Feb. 5, will be two tie-ups with other big names in the energy space. Xcel this week announced both a memorandum of understanding with NextEra Energy to co-develop various generation, storage and interconnection assets and a strategic alliance with GE Vernova that calls for Xcel to buy five more natural-gas turbines and to, among other things, have the two companies collaborate on grid modernization and R&D projects.

Shares of Xcel (Ticker:

XEL

) closed trading Feb. 5 essentially unchanged at $76.12 but were up about 2% in after-hours trading. Over the past six months, they have risen slightly and the company’s market value is now about $45 billion.