Calpine sells 2 gas-fired plants to Starwood Energy

Dive Brief:

Calpine has agreed to sell more than 825 MW of contracted gas-fired power generation to Starwood Energy Group Global, giving the infrastructure fund new capacity in two wholesale markets.
The RockGen Energy Center helps meet peak demand in Wisconsin, dispatching into the Midcontinent ISO Zone 2. The Garrison Energy Center is Calpine's newest plant, operating in the EMAAC zone of PJM Interconnection.
Calpine is the largest gas generator in the United States, operating more than 75 plants and 26,000 MW of capacity. For Starwood, the contracted capacity grows the company's generation while also serving as "risk mitigation," officials said.

Dive Insight:

Starwood officials say the deal with Calpine is "unqiue," allowing the company to grow its gas generation portfolio while at the same time maintaining a lower risk profile. The company said the two-plant portfolio is fully contracted with "various counterparties," with a weighted average life of nearly five years.

Starwood Energy CEO Himanshu Saxena said the deal "represents a combination of scale and risk-mitigation, and is an excellent complement to our existing generation investments."

The companies say the deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the middle of this year.

At the same time, Calpine is continuing to strategically grow its fleet and last month added 828 MW of generation in the Mid-Atlantic when its combined cycle York 2 plant in Pennsylvania, in the PJM market, came online.

According to Calpine, the Garrison plant is a 309 MW combined-cycle facility "built to enhance reliability for Delaware and the regional power market." It began operating in 2015 and the plant site could accommodate another similar unit, "should market conditions warrant," according to the company.

RockGen began operating in 2001, providing electricity to the Wisconsin wholesale power market. It is the largest peaking plant in the state of Wisconsin, according to Calpine.

While natural gas is still needed to maintain reliability on the electric grid, the resource is facing increasing headwinds as renewables grow. Last year in California, Calpine canceled plans to construct the proposed 255 MW Mission Rock Energy Center, citing low demand and changes to state policy that intend to move the state away from natural gas.