Calpine to acquire 745MW Granite Ridge gas plant

Calpine Corporation and Granite Ridge Holdings have reached an agreement for the former to acquire the Granite Ridge Energy Center for $500 million, or approximately $671 per kilowatt, subject to working capital adjustments.

The 745-megawatt (MW) combined cycle gas-fired power plant is located roughly 45 miles northwest of Boston in Londonderry, New Hampshire, placing it within the ISO-New England power market, where tightening conditions have led to a situation where capacity revenues are expected to improve substantially over the coming three years, Calpine said in a statement. 

The plant entered commercial service in 2003 and draws its generation from two Siemens 501G combustion turbines, two heat recovery steam generators and one steam turbine. 

“This accretive transaction represents an attractive opportunity for Calpine to build upon our track record of value-enhancing portfolio management,” said Calpine president and chief executive Thad Hill. “With the addition of Granite Ridge, our footprint in New England will comprise approximately 2,000 megawatts of reliable and environmentally responsible generation resources, making us a meaningful supplier in one of the nation's leading wholesale power markets.”

Calpine said it plans to fund the transaction with a combination of debt and cash, with the financing plan ultimately based on prevailing market conditions. The company expects the deal to close early next year, subject to antitrust review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee.

The Calpine-Granite Ridge transaction represents the fifth power generation ownership transition in the Northeastern United States so far this month, with other deals including three generation facilities offloaded to Brookfield and TransCanada by Talen Energy and Carlyle's acquisition of the Rhode Island Energy Center.