Business

LS Power to acquire Hull Street Energy hydro facilities

LS Power to acquire Hull Street Energy hydro facilities
(Hull Street Energy to sell hydroelectric generation company.)

LS Power has reached an agreement to acquire 42 run-of-river hydro facilities across 11 states, totaling 334 MW, from Hull Street Energy.

The portfolio is primarily concentrated in the markets of ISO-NE (152 MW), PJM (86 MW) and NYISO (48 MW), with the remaining facilities located in CAISO, SERC and WECC.

Hull Street Energy owns Central Rivers Power, which according to the Hull Street website owns and operates 45 hydroelectric power plants with a combined installed capacity of 343 MW across in the river basins of: Columbia, Connecticut, Hudson, Merrimack, Mississippi, Sacramento, Savannah, and St. Lawrence. The LS Power release did not indicate which hydroelectric plants were included in the transaction.

“The hydro projects we are acquiring are located in states and markets with attractive regulatory environments supportive of energy transition investments, which we anticipate will grow over time,” said LS Power Generation President Nathan Hanson. “Policies in New York and Massachusetts already promote the use of small hydro projects to meet renewable portfolio standards, and we expect additional states will follow as energy transition tailwinds continue to grow. These projects will be integral to achieving carbon reduction goals, and we are excited to add them to our portfolio.”

The acquisition is expected to close by the end of Q1 2023, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

LS Power
Location of hydroelectric assets being acquired by LS Power.

“With the addition of this large, geographically diverse, run-of-river hydroelectric portfolio, combined with our existing energy transition platforms, LS Power continues to lead the effort to develop a cleaner, more reliable and more affordable energy ecosystem,” said LS Power Chief Executive Officer Paul Segal. “Reducing carbon intensity is an enduring secular trend that has long informed our energy transition strategy, which combines our renewable generation and fuels, battery energy storage, distributed energy, transmission, and transportation electrification platforms with a flexible, complementary natural gas fleet.”

LS Power’s family of energy transition platforms includes:

  • EVgo, a public fast-charging network for electric vehicles, powered by 100% renewable energy
  • Endurant Energy, a provider of on-site energy infrastructure solutions
  • CPower Energy Management, a provider of distributed energy resource management solutions
  • Primary Renewable Fuels, LLC, a waste-to-renewable natural gas development and operating platform
  • REV Renewables, with a ~2.8 GW operating portfolio including the largest non-utility-owned pumped storage hydro portfolio in the U.S. Hydro Review previously reported that Rev has a 1,620 MW pumped storage hydro portfolio in the mid-Atlantic region of PJM.
  • Rise Light & Power, a generator and developer of clean energy infrastructure
  • LS Power Grid, developer and operator of ~680 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, with 100+ miles and multiple substations under construction
  • LS Power Generation, operator of ~14,000 MW of flexible, fast-start gas facilities that complement the intermittency of wind and solar resources

Hull Street Energy is a private equity firm that specializes in deploying capital into the power sector as it transitions to a more sustainable future. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md.

LS Power is a development, investment and operating company focused on the North American power and energy infrastructure sector. Since its inception in 1990, LS Power has developed, constructed, managed or acquired more than 46,000 MW of power generation, including utility-scale solar, wind, hydro, natural gas-fired, and battery energy storage projects, of which ~16,700 MW are currently operating.

LS Power was represented by Milbank LLP as legal counsel with BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Scotiabank serving as financial advisors.