Norway's Equinor expands U.S. energy business with $940 million stake in gas-fired plants

Equinor, a Norwegian energy company, announced on Monday that it had agreed to purchase a stake in a gas-fired plant located in Pennsylvania. The group is hoping to take advantage of the 'rapidly increasing electricity demand from data centres and other industries.

Equinor said it will pay $940m, subject to final adjustments, for 87.71% shares of BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, in the Lackawanna Energy Center. The plant is a combined cycle gas-fired power station with a capacity of 1,483 Megawatts (MW).

Invenergy is the largest private power producer in North America. It continues to operate and manage Lackawanna.

Helge Haugane is the executive vice president of Equinor's power division.

Lackawanna, a Norwegian company, said, is 'among the largest, most efficient gas-fired power plants in the PJM market. This market serves 70 million consumers spread across 13 states.

Haugane stated that Equinor has significant stakes in the onshore gas production of PJM in the Appalachian Basin and trades electricity there through its Danske Commodities subsidiaries.

He added that the company also invests in battery storage and gas-fired power generation, creating a more robust portfolio. This could create new opportunities for the future.

The investment is made at a moment when Equinor has reduced its spending on renewables, and the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump is suing it over its Empire Wind offshore farm.

Haugane stated that while Trump had made deals with other offshore wind developers to get them to invest instead in fossil fuel projects, Equinor was not motivated by this, due its large natural gas presence already in the U.S. Nora Buli reported, Terje Solsvik edited.

(source: Reuters)