As part of its development as an integrated electricity player, TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with the American company TexGen for the acquisition for an amount of 635 million dollars for three gas plants representing 1.5 GW of electricity generation capacity in Texas.
Connected to the Texas ERCOT ( Electric Reliability Council of Texas) network, the second largest electricity market in the United States, the plants concerned are:
- The Wolf Hollow I Generating Station, located in suburban Dallas, which includes a 745 MW combined cycle turbine (CCGT);
- The Colorado Bend I power plant, south of Houston, consists of a 530 MW CCGT, as well as a 74 MW open cycle turbine (OCGT), providing increased complementary flexibility to meet exceptionally high demand, particularly in summer;
- The La Porte power plant, including a 150 MW OCGT southeast of Houston.
These flexible assets, located near Dallas and Houston, will meet the growing energy demand of these cities and help offset the intermittency of renewable energy production. Their importance has recently been highlighted during weather events that have impacted renewable electricity production in Texas or caused a high seasonal peak in demand.
“We are pleased with the agreement reached with TexGen to acquire 1.5 GW of CCGT in the ERCOT market. After the signing of several PPA contracts with companies, and the recent start-up of the giant Myrtle Solar solar power plant, this operation is part of our Integrated Power strategy in the American electricity market. These gas plants will integrate with our intermittent renewable assets to enable us to provide our customers with permanently available electricity while taking advantage of the volatility of electricity prices,” stated Stéphane Michel, General Manager Gas, Renewables & Power from TotalEnergies. “This acquisition will contribute positively to our objective of achieving profitability of around 12% by 2028 for our Integrated Power business sector.”
Industry sources added that the 1.5 GW of additional flexible production capacity acquired by TotalEnergies thus complements its renewable production capacities in Texas, which currently amount to 2 GW gross installed, 2 GW under construction, and more than 3 GW in development. These gas plants will also strengthen TotalEnergies’ trading capabilities in the electricity and gas markets.
This acquisition confirms TotalEnergies’ commitment to providing increasingly available, affordable, and sustainable energy for ERCOT’s 26 million customers in Texas.
