By Adam Whittaker

Germany's RWE plans to spend around $20 billion on building new gas-fired power plants in the U.S., as it seeks to cash in on growing energy demand from data centers.

The energy company said Thursday that it would spend around 17 billion euros ($19.66 billion) over the next five years on U.S. power assets, including new gas-fired power plants. The investment accounts for nearly half of the 35 billion euros the company plans to spend globally.

The investments are a bet on the energy needs of the U.S. at a time when data centers are being built at speed and placing a strain on the country's existing energy grid. Data centers could make up nearly half of the country's electricity demand over the next five years, the International Energy Agency predicts.

A typical data center that fuels artificial-intelligence systems consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households but some of the facilities under construction will consume 20 times as much, according to the IEA.

Gas power plants are one of the preferred means of generating the electricity data centers need because they pollute less than coal, and are less complex to operate than nuclear plants.

RWE said it would invest in U.S. flexible-generation assets, focusing on adding gas peaking capacity, which can be ramped up to full capacity at short notice to manage volatile swings in electricity demand, or balance unpredictable supply from renewable sources. It is also investing in wind and solar power plants and battery storage facilities in the U.S.

The company expects the spending to drive average adjusted earnings per share growth of 12% a year over the next five years. It expects adjusted earnings per share to rise to 4.40 euros in 2031, from the 2.48 euros it reported for 2025. RWE expects the higher earnings will translate into 10% annual increases in its dividend, which stood at 1.20 euros for 2025.

RWE said its U.S. spending would take its installed capacity in the country to 22 gigawatts by 2031 from 13 gigawatts presently.

For 2025, RWE reported a net profit of 3.13 billion euros, down from 5.135 billion euros, on revenue that dropped to 17.63 billion euros from 24.22 billion euros.

The company said it dealt with a challenging environment last year, and that its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 5.1 billion euros and adjusted net income of 1.8 billion euros reached the upper end of its guidance.

Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 12, 2026 05:49 ET (09:49 GMT)

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