Talen Energy Joins in U.S. Power Plant Buying Spree

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Written by Danny Levin, Deputy Editor for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Talen Energy received the final approvals necessary to buy three U.S. gas-fired power plants, which is the latest in a long line of planned merger and acquisition activity across the U.S. power-generation landscape.

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Talen Energy's Acquisition

Talen Energy has received all remaining regulatory approvals needed for its previously announced $3.45 billion purchase of three gas-fired plants, which is one in a series of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity across the U.S. power-generation landscape.

Talen will add about 2.6 gigawatts (GW) from the plants currently owned by a subsidiary of Energy Capital Partners. The Lawrenceburg Power Station in Lawrenceburg, Indiana and the Waterford Power Station in Waterford, Ohio are combined-cycle, gas-turbine (CCGT) plants; Lawrenceburg and Waterford have design capacities of 1,232 and 834 megawatts (MW), respectively. While those plants are operational, according to Industrial Info Resources data, there is more than $300 billion worth of worth of active and proposed gas-fired generation projects across the U.S. Readers can view a full list of detailed projects.

The Darby Electric Generating Station in Mount Sterling, Ohio is a natural gas-fired peaking unit, which generates power only during peak electricity demand (such as periods of higher-than-average heat or cold) to supplement baseload power. The plant has a design capacity of 510 MW. The Industrial Info Resources Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Plant Database offers more details from detailed profiles of Darby, Lawrenceburg and Waterford.

Talen said on Monday it expected the acquisition to close in the coming weeks.

All three plants are in the PJM Interconnection, with its full area covering all of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio, as well as eastern Kentucky, northernmost Illinois and northeastern Indiana.

Another Pending PJM Gas Plant Swap

Constellation Energy has agreed to sell a portfolio of generation assets in the PJM to LS Power, which was a regulatory requirement as part of Constellation's now-completed acquisition of Calpine.

Under the agreement, LS Power would acquire approximately 4.4 gigawatts (GW) of predominately natural gas-fired power capacity in Delaware and Pennsylvania:

• The 569-MW York 1 and 828-MW York 2 in Delta, Pennsylvania
• 1,134-MW Bethlehem Energy Center in Pennsylvania
• 1,136-MW Hay Road Power Station in Wilmington, Delaware
• 707-MW Edge Moor Energy Center, also in Wilmington

Readers can view the associated plant profiles.

The transaction is valued at $5 billion before closing adjustments.

Vistra's Pending $4 Billion Acquisition

Vistra is awaiting regulatory clearances for its proposed $4 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of Cogentrix Energy and its 10 natural gas generation assets totaling approximately 5,500 MW of capacity. This includes three combined-cycle gas turbine assets and two combustion turbine assets located across the PJM; four combined-cycle gas turbine assets in ISO New England (ISO-NE); and one cogeneration asset in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) service area.

These include:

• PJM: Patriot, Hamilton-Liberty, Lakewood, Ocean and Rock Springs. Note: Industrial Info is tracking the Lakewood and Ocean assets as one plant.
• ISO-NE: Newington, Bridgeport, Tiverton, Rumford
• ERCOT: Altura Cogeneration

Learn more by viewing a list of related plant profiles.

Data Center Firm DigitalBridge Dives In

Last month, data center-focused developer and asset manager DigitalBridge Group announced it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire one of North America's largest private power-generation providers, ArcLight Capital Partners, in a deal valued up to $1.05 billion. ArcLight would operate as a separately managed business as part of the DigitalBridge platform.

The transaction is conditional upon completion of the $4 billion acquisition of DigitalBridge by an affiliate of SoftBank in a separate, previously announced deal. The DigitalBridge-SoftBank acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

ArcLight owned 20.8 GW of capacity as of June 2025, according to a filing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, while the company notes it has a project pipeline exceeding 15 GW. The operational portfolio primarily consists of coal and natural gas-fired assets, and on a lesser scale, renewable energy.

"AI is rewiring the global power equation, accelerating investment across generation, transmission, and behind-the-meter infrastructure," said Marc Ganzi, chief executive officer of DigitalBridge. "We believe the firms best positioned for this next phase of growth will be those that are able to underwrite both digital and energy infrastructure with equal depth and credibility."

Industrial Info Resources is tracking 40 operational power plants attributed to ArcLight across the U.S., and another 13 planned or already under construction. See a full list.

IIR also is tracking more than $100 billion worth of active and planned projects involving DigitalBridge. Click here for the list of projects.

Key Takeaways

• Talen Energy received approval to purchase three gas-fired power plants.
• This is one of many recent examples of M&A activity across the U.S. power generation landscape.
• Others looking to acquire assets include LS Power and Vistra.
• Data center firm DigitalBridge looks to acquire ArcLight's power generation assets.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).