The data centre boom is prompting NUE Power Corp. (NUE-CN) to expand beyond solar and energy storage into natural gas and nuclear power, as the Calgary-based developer seeks to build a more diversified energy portfolio to meet rising electricity demand.

Previously focused exclusively on solar, NUE is now developing or taking an interest in pairing solar power with batteries, natural gas generation and even small modular reactors (SMRs).

The influx of energy-hungry data centres demands more baseload power, Broderick Gunning, CEO of NUE, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada, explaining the pivot to other energy sources. Outside of Alberta, the developer has plans for projects in Saskatchewan and Mongolia that combine data centres with power generation.

To capitalize on this strategy, NUE “cleaned up,” Gunning said, building a new board, shuffling the C-suite and addressing its finances.

“It was important for us to clean up as much as we could, so that we would be ready towards not only taking investment, but heading towards an institutional-grade company,” he said, “and then building a strong foundation that we can build real projects from.”

Building a balanced portfolio around a 'pragmatic standpoint'

The company settled on developing a mix of renewable energy, natural gas and nuclear to build a balanced, hybrid energy portfolio, Gunning said.

“We’re not an anti-gas company or a pro-renewables company. We just like to look at it from a pragmatic standpoint and really try to create that balance.”

This approach presents opportunities in markets like Mongolia, where the electricity is primarily powered by coal. NUE could supplement coal-fired generation with solar power and batteries, for example. In Mongolia, NUE has a joint development agreement for a proposed 600-megawatt (MW) project consisting of coal-fired generation and 100 MW of battery storage.

A project in Edenwold, Sask. is designed as a 200 MW hybrid gas, solar and grid development on a 100-acre site that includes a housing development.

NUE’s development strategy centres on “being involved and active in the communities that we do business in,” Gunning said. This means working with communities to assess their power needs and gauge local support for data centres.

The Prairies are where NUE started, and where it will continue to develop, Gunning said. A strong motivator is the data centres planned for the region, such as Meta’s one-gigawatt facility, which will demand many more megawatts that NUE could supply.

Also, utilities and provincial governments such as Saskatchewan are indicating “their power requirements are so high, the only way they can actually achieve them are through small modular reactors or nuclear development,” Gunning said. In response, NUE is exploring the potential to develop SMRs, but Gunning said it remains an early concept.

NUE is in talks with large technology companies, manufacturers and utilities interested in purchasing its energy, Gunning said.

NUE to take institutional turn

NUE’s only operating asset is Lethbridge One, an 8.75 MW solar project in Alberta in which it holds a 25 per cent working interest. Its portfolio also consists of 50 per cent working interests in three Alberta solar and energy storage projects that are in development, totalling 503.5 MW of generating capacity.

In January, NUE signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell its interests in the three in-development projects to South Korean company Green Harbor Partners Corp. NUE is still working through the transaction, Gunning said.

Since Gunning joined NUE as CEO in November 2025, the company began looking to develop projects in the U.S. and Malaysia, he said.

To guide its strategy, NUE appointed John Windsor as its chief operating officer and brought on Peter Espig to its board.

Windsor has over 20 years of experience at Canadian energy companies, such as Algonquin Power & Utilities, Northland Power and Emera, and has managed a portfolio of 3,200 MW of assets.

Espig, who served vice president roles at Goldman Sachs Japan and Olympus Capital, has structured more than $2 billion in private equity and pre-initial public offering transactions.

By bringing on such experienced, senior figures, NUE can attract institutional investors and wield their expertise in executing power projects and fundraising, Gunning said.