Carlyle Group to acquire 6 power plants in California, New Jersey

The Carlyle Group (CG) announced it has agreed to acquire the Red Oak power generation facility in Sayreville, New Jersey, and has separately closed on the purchase of five power plants in California. The acquisitions, which were executed in conjunction with Carlyle’s power affiliate Cogentrix. Red Oak, which is being acquired from Energy Capital Partners, is a highly efficient, 823-MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant located in Sayreville, New Jersey. Red Oak currently operates under a long-term power purchase agreement and is part of the PJM Interconnection. The five California power generation facilities, together accounting for 320 MW, include the 122-MW Midway natural gas-fired plant in Firebaugh, California, as well as the CalPeak portfolio of four natural gas-fired plants totaling 198 MW. Carlyle is acquiring the Midway plant from an affiliate of Starwood Energy Group Global and the CalPeak portfolio from the Blackstone Group’s (BX) GSO Capital Partners as well as affiliates of Starwood and Tyr Energy. Equity capital for the transactions, terms of which were not disclosed, comes from Carlyle Power Opportunities Capital Partners, a power managed account, and Carlyle Infrastructure Partners, a $1.2B infrastructure fund.