PPL, Blackstone Infrastructure create JV to build natgas generation in PA

PPL Corporation (PPL) and Blackstone Infrastructure (BX) announced that they have formed a joint venture to build, own and operate new gas-fired, combined-cycle generation stations to power data centers under long-term energy services agreements. The announcement was made at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit hosted by Sen. David McCormick at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The joint venture seeks to develop front-of-the-meter generation that sits atop the Marcellus and Utica shale basins; can quickly connect to significant, available gas pipeline capacity; and targets areas of significant data center interest. The joint venture plans to enter into long-term energy services agreements with regulated-like risk profiles that do not expose the companies to merchant energy and capacity price volatility. Construction of new natural gas plants will require the successful execution of ESAs with hyperscalers. The joint venture is actively engaged with landowners, natural gas pipeline companies and turbine manufacturers, and has secured multiple land parcels to enable this new generation buildout; however, no ESAs with hyperscalers have been signed to date. The joint venture team also looks forward to engaging with local stakeholders as plans develop. PPL owns 51% of the joint venture interest, with Blackstone Infrastructure owning 49%. The parties will ratably share joint venture expenses and distributions. The joint venture does not include PPL Electric Utilities or PPL’s other regulated subsidiaries.