The artificial intelligence boom and the data center supercycle reshaping global power markets are driving massive growth in renewable energy credit (REC) and carbon offset demand, particularly in voluntary markets like Florida and emerging international jurisdictions, according to Xpansiv CEO John Melby.

In an interview with NPM, Melby said surging electricity consumption from hyperscale data centers is upending the long-standing assumption of flat or declining power demand in the US and is accelerating the need for flexible clean energy tracking tools across continents.

“Data centers are fundamentally changing the demand curve in energy markets,” Melby said. “And that demand center is looking for clean energy.”

Much of the growth is occurring outside the footprint of formal state renewable portfolio standards. “We operate a system called the North American Renewable Registry that covers all the areas that don’t have RPS programs,” he said. “That market’s grown rapidly for us,” he added, referring specifically to Florida.

Xpansiv’s business centers on providing “market infrastructure” for the energy transition, offering registry, trading, and settlement platforms for RECs, carbon offsets, and low-emission fuels. The company operates the largest global spot exchange and registry network for environmental commodities and processed over one billion environmental units last year—600 million renewable energy credits and 400 million carbon offsets.

The firm’s Xpansiv Connect platform links directly into both proprietary and third-party registries, and customers can see their inventory, transfer credits, and transact in a unified interface, Melby said.

Xpansiv’s value proposition has become particularly attractive to hyperscalers and energy buyers struggling to match real-time demand with clean supply in congested or policy-inert regions.

The company is also leaning heavily into its role as a consolidator of environmental data infrastructure. Backed by Blackstone—which committed USD 400m in 2022—and a cap table that includes Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Macquarie, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and S&P Global, Xpansiv has completed 10 to 11 acquisitions since 2019, Melby said, including several in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars.

“We’ve approached the energy transition as an integrated solution set,” he said. “There’s really no other company that spans the whole gamut of services that we provide.”

While the company is not currently seeking fresh capital, it remains active in the M&A market. “We’re always interested in having capital available to do additional transactions,” Melby said, noting the firm expects to achieve profitability in 2025.

Xpansiv has also built software to manage grid scheduling and settlement for power plants, including distributed renewable assets, which are now being built at far higher rates than traditional thermal generation. “Last year, 90% of new power generation build was in renewables,” Melby said, adding that renewables are often faster, cheaper, and easier to bring online.

Melby added that federal policy debates, including the recent reconciliation bill, won’t impact Xpansiv’s existing voluntary market footprint, though they could influence the future pace of new renewable development. “Our infrastructure supports what’s already been built,” he said.