Renewables

LS Power Acquiring Renewable Energy Assets in $2.5 Billion Deal

A New York-based power and energy infrastructure group will acquire more than 3 GW of operating renewable energy assets, along with another 8 GW of projects under development, from a Canadian company in a deal valued at up to $2.5 billion.

LS Power, headquartered in New York City with offices in New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, and California, on August 9 announced it has agreed to buy the renewable energy portfolio of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., a group based in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. About 2,700 MW of the portfolio’s operating assets are located in the U.S., across the NYISO, MISO, PJM, ERCOT and CAISO markets. The remaining 300 MW of generation assets are located in Canada.

“This represents a significant strategic investment in and expansion of LS Power’s renewable energy portfolio,” said Paul Segal, CEO of LS Power. “This business complements our existing fleet of more than 19,000 MW of top-performing renewable, energy storage, flexible gas and renewable fuels projects. We believe this platform will play a significant role in meeting the challenges of rising electric demand and advancing the energy transition.”

LS Power said wind and solar projects comprise the bulk of the acquisition, which includes 44 operating sites. The development pipeline includes solar, wind, battery energy storage, and renewable natural gas projects in various stages of development. The deal is expected to close by year-end 2024, or during the first three months of 2025.

“We are pleased to announce this important transaction with LS Power, which is the result of a highly competitive strategic sale process,” said Chris Huskilson, CEO of Algonquin (AQN). “This major milestone, coupled with our previously announced agreement to support the sale of our Atlantica shares, delivers on our plan to transform AQN into a pure play regulated utility, optimize our regulated business activities, strengthen our balance sheet, and enhance our quality of earnings. We are confident that our path towards a pure play regulated utility supports our objective to create long term value for our customers and shareholders.”

Huskilson added, “The renewable energy business is a compelling and competitive business with scale and strong assets. That strength is a direct result of our employees’ hard work and dedication over the last three-plus decades, and I want to thank them for being an integral part of that effort. AQN and LS Power will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition.”

Algonquin is the parent company of Liberty Utilities, which provides electricity, water, and natural gas utility services to more than 1 million customers. The company also has operations in Bermuda and Chile.

LS Power said the new assets will join LS Power’s existing portfolio, which includes:

- - REV Renewables, a leader in renewable generation and energy storage.
  - EVgo, a fast-charging network for electric vehicles, powered by 100% renewable energy.
  - CPower Energy Management, a leading, national distributed energy resource monetization and virtual power plant services business.
  - Rise Light & Power, New York City’s largest generator and developer of clean energy infrastructure including battery storage and offshore wind interconnection.
  - Primary Renewable Fuels, a leading waste-to-renewable natural gas development and operating platform.
  - Endurant Energy, a provider of distributed energy infrastructure.
  - LS Power Transmission, a leading private transmission owner and developer with 780+ miles of high-voltage transmission lines operating and 350+ miles and multiple substations under development or construction.
  - LS Power Generation, a large-scale dispatchable generation platform providing energy, reliability and flexibility to the grid.

—Darrell Proctor is senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).