Located in Cambridge, Wisconsin, RockGen Energy Center is a simple-cycle, dual fuel power generating facility that operates primarily on natural gas
RockGen Energy Center, Wisconsin. (Credit: Corey Coyle/Wikipedia.)
Dairyland Power Cooperative has agreed to acquire 503MW RockGen Energy Center from a subsidiary of energy infrastructure investor Starwood Energy Group Global.
Located in Cambridge, Wisconsin, RockGen Energy Center is a simple-cycle, dual fuel power generating facility that operates primarily on natural gas.
The power plant features three 168MW low-NOx combustion turbines (CTs), which can ramp up and down rapidly to support intermittent solar and wind resources.
Last year, the plant has been re-commissioned to facilitate operation on fuel oil as a backup fuel source, to enhance reliability when the natural gas supply is limited in the region.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Dairyland Power Cooperative president and CEO Brent Ridge said: “RockGen will help meet our members’ power supply needs as we transition to more renewable resources.
“Safely delivering reliable and sustainable electricity to our members is critical as we continue to diversify Dairyland’s energy portfolio and lower carbon intensity.
“With the closing of our coal-fired Genoa Station #3 this year, the availability of this existing, low-cost and reliable facility in Wisconsin is both timely and a good strategic fit for our power supply portfolio.”
Dairyland is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, established in December 1941, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The cooperative is engaged in providing the wholesale electrical requirements for 24 distribution cooperatives and 17 municipal utilities.
The cooperatives and municipals will consequently supply the energy to address the needs of more than half a million people living in the four-state service area.
Starwood Energy Group is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity investment firm focused on energy infrastructure investments.
The company said that it has raised more than $3bn in equity capital and has executed transactions totalling more than $8bn in enterprise value.
Starwood Energy CEO Himanshu Saxena said: “RockGen is a world-class facility and under our ownership, we have been able to add tremendous commercial and operational value to this asset. We are confident that this asset will serve Dairyland and its members for many years to come.”