Avangrid, the North American arm of Spanish electrical utility Iberdrola, has announced a $18.5 billion investment plan into electric and gas network infrastructure within the US by 2028.

The energy company stated that the upgrades were necessary to support growing energy demand, particularly from the data center sector.

“With our commitment to invest $18.5bn in the US energy sector, Avangrid is focused on building and strengthening the infrastructure that unlocks innovation, drives economic growth, and secures the nation’s energy future,” said Avangrid CEO Jose Antonio Miranda.

“As we continue to see advanced manufacturing and data center growth, demand for reliable energy infrastructure has never been greater. Avangrid’s $18.5bn investment plan ensures the grid will support growing energy demand today, make it more resilient, and accelerate economic competitiveness into the future.”

The investment will focus on rebuilding and replacing aging infrastructure in electric and gas utilities, expanding capacity for data centers and large-scale development projects, reducing the need for increased storm restoration costs, and increasing energy production for customers in states, including New York, Maine, and Connecticut.

Through its business networks, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England. The company also operates more than 80 energy generation facilities across the US, which produce 10.5GW of power.

The company has signed numerous renewable energy supply agreements with data center companies across the US.

Earlier this month, the company inked a 57MW Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Amazon to supply the hyperscaler with solar energy from a project in Gilliam County, Oregon. The PPA was the second between the companies, following a 98.4MW agreement signed in February 2024 for energy from the 119MW Leaning Juniper IIA wind farm also located in Gilliam County.

In July, Avangrid signed a 100MW PPA with Google to supply the search giant with power from the Leaning Juniper IIB onshore wind project in Gilliam County.

Commences solar installation at Meta-linked project

In other news, Avangrid also announced that it had commenced the installation of solar panels at its 120MW Tower Solar project in Morrow County, Oregon.

The project is tied to a PPA with QTS and Meta, which was signed last December. The project is expected to comprise more than 200,000 solar panels assembled by SEG Solar in its newly constructed Houston manufacturing facility. The project is expected to reach operational status sometime in 2026.

The Tower Solar project will deliver energy to the PGE grid through the Green Future Impact (GFI) program, a voluntary initiative where large commercial, industrial, and municipal customers can support the development of new renewable energy facilities.

The PPA is not the first between Meta and Avangrid. The companies signed a long-term PPA in March 2023 that saw Meta agree to offtake power from the True North solar farm in Falls County, Texas. The project reached operational status in March of this year.