Osaka Gas Buys Stake in US CCGT

Osaka Gas USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Osaka Gas, has acquired a 49.5% stake in a gas-fired combined cycle plant (CCGT) in Oxford, Connecticut, it said December 14.

The Japanese utility bought 25% stake in 785MW CPV Towantic Energy Center from a subsidiary of Competitive Power Ventures and a 24.5% ownership interest from a subsidiary of GE Energy Financial Services. Post the deal, Competitive Power Ventures owns 26% in the project, US-based insurance and financial services firm Ullico owns 13.7% and UBS has 10.8%.

CPV Towantic Energy Center has been in operation since May 2018 and serves ISO-New England, a wholesale electricity market covering six states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) in the New England region.

Osaka Gas said it sees the US energy market as a strategic area for further growth in its international business segment. Earlier this year, Osaka Gas, along with three other Japanese firms, bought Kleen Energy, another Connecticut-based natural gas-fired power plant. Kleen Energy is an approximately 620MW plant that has been in operation since July 2011.