Located near Dallas and Houston, the three power plants being acquired by the French energy company are Wolf Hollow I, a 745MW CCGT plant, Colorado Bend I which comprises a 530MW CCGT and a 74MW OCGT, and La Porte site, which is a 150MW OCGT

TotalEnergies gas-fired power plants

TotalEnergies agrees to acquire three gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 1.5GW from TexGen. (Credit: Monika from Pixabay)

TotalEnergies has agreed to acquire three operating gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 1.5GW in Texas, US from TexGen in a deal worth $635m.

Located near Dallas and Houston, the three power plants, namely Wolf Hollow I, Colorado Bend I, and La Porte site, are all connected to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Wolf Hollow I is a 745MW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant located on the outskirts of Dallas. Colorado Bend I comprises a 530MW CCGT and a 74MW open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) and is located south of Houston.

According to TotalEnergies, the Colorado Bend I gas-fired plant provides additional flexibility to address the high demand, specifically in the summer.

The La Porte site, which is located southeast of Houston, is a 150MW OCGT.

Through the acquisition of additional production capacity, TotalEnergies aims to complement its clean energy capacity in Texas as well as to bolster trading capabilities in the gas and power markets.

Currently, the company possesses a 2GW installed capacity, 2GW capacity under construction, and over 3GW capacity under development in Texas.

TotalEnergies gas renewables and power president Stephane Michel said: “After the signing of several corporate PPA over the last couple of years and the recent start-up of the utility-scale Myrtle solar plant, this deal is a major milestone for our Integrated Power strategy in the ERCOT market.

“These plants will enable us to complement our renewable assets, intermittent by nature, provide our customers with firm power, and take advantage of the volatility of electricity prices.”

The transaction is contingent on approval by the relevant bodies.

Earlier this month, TotalEnergies began commercial operations of the 380MWp Myrtle Solar, a utility-scale solar farm in Texas.