An Energy Capital Partners affiliate is seeking approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to purchase more than 5 GW of coal and natural gas-fired power plants from two peer private equity firms.
ECP ControlCo LLC on Sept. 27 filed an application with FERC (EC24-125) for the acquisition of the 2,709-MW Gen J M Gavin coal-fired power plant in Gallia County, Ohio, along with the 540-MW Darby gas-fired plant in Pickaway County, Ohio; the 960-MW combined-cycle Waterford Energy Facility in Washington County, Ohio; and the 1,288-MW Lawrenceburg combined-cycle plant in Dearborn County, Ind.
Funds controlled by ECP and Javelin Global Commodities US Holdings Inc. will acquire the equity interests in the Gavin plant from Lightstone Generation LLC, according to the application. ECP also will acquire the equity interests in the gas-fired assets from Lightstone.
Lightstone is a joint venture created by ArcLight Capital Partners LLC and Blackstone Inc. to "acquire and own electric generation assets," the companies wrote in the application. ArcLight and Blackstone each own a 50% interest in the special purpose entity but will no longer be affiliated with Lightstone following the transaction.
The details of the deal indicate the assets will be split between two entities known as General Coal Purchaser LLC, or Gavin Buyer, and Airborne Gas Purchaser LLC, or GasCo Buyer.
"ECP and Javelin expect that Javelin will acquire an interest in Gavin Buyer such that ECP will hold approximately 60% of the indirect equity interests in Gavin, and Javelin will hold approximately 40% of the indirect equity interests in Gavin," the application states.
"Javelin will not directly or indirectly hold any equity interests in Darby, Lawrenceburg, Waterford, or Lightstone Marketing," the firms wrote.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) released a report Oct. 10 raising concerns about the carbon emissions of the Gavin plant.
ECP's decision to separate the assets in the transaction indicates the firm knows Gavin's carbon emissions are a problem, according to IEEFA.
"There is nothing sustainable or transitional about Gavin," IEEFA analysts Dennis Wamsted and Seth Feaster wrote. "If ECP wants to be a leader in the ongoing electricity transition, it should announce plans to close its new coal asset. Otherwise, it is just another investor looking to make a dollar while pushing the costs of its climate-changing CO2 emissions onto the public."
Gavin has released more than 100 million tons of carbon dioxide since 2017 and is the fifth-largest CO2-emitting power plant in the US, the analysts wrote.
There is no planned retirement date for the 50-year-old Gavin plant, but Inside Climate News reported Oct. 10 that ECP could soon announce a shutdown or fuel conversion date for the facility's two units. Unit 1 began operating in October 1974, followed by Unit 2 in July 1975, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.