Major US utility Southern Company is seeking to extend the life of three coal-fired power plants in Mississippi and Georgia to meet the increasing energy demands of data centers across its footprint.

According to public filings first reported by the Energy & Policy Institute, the utility plans to extend the life of Plant Daniel in Mississippi and Plant Bowen and Plant Scherer in Georgia. Combined, the plants have a capacity of 8.2GW.

The Daniel and Scherer plants were scheduled for closure in 2028, with Bowen slated for closure in 2035.

Southern Co subsidiary Georgia Power revealed in its latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that the utility faced more than 9.4GW of new electricity demand over the next ten years, with data center growth the biggest factor.

In the IRP, the utility said it expects to co-fire gas with coal at Plants Bowen and Scherer by January 2030. This, the company says, would allow it to delay the plants' retirement to as late as January 2039.

In Mississippi, attorneys from Southern Co subsidiary Mississippi Power told the Mississippi Public Service Commission that expected load growth and rising capacity prices “necessitated” the extension of Plant Daniel.

Last November, Southern Co floated the idea of extending the life of coal assets in an attempt to meet data center demand. Chris Womack, CEO of Southern, said, “As we look at responding to demand growth, looking at coal operating longer is a consideration.”

Southern Co is the second-largest utility in the US, providing energy to six states in the southeast of the US.

Coal-fired generation has gained some popularity within the data center industry over recent months.

Coal power producer Hallador Energy cited the surge in demand from data centers as a “meaningful opportunity” for the fossil fuel sector. It recently signed a non-binding term sheet with an unnamed data center developer to supply it with energy over a prolonged period.