Energy park developer Hecate outlines data center-focused strategy

Hecate Energy envisions leveraging its extensive slate of battery storage, renewable energy and gas-fired generation projects into behind-the-meter power solutions for large-load customers when it becomes a public company later in 2026.

"We believe it's the largest pipeline of its kind in the United States," COO Nick Bullinger said during a Feb. 5 investor webinar.

The merger with special purpose acquisition company EGH Acquisition Corp., announced Jan. 22, values Hecate at a pre-money enterprise value of $1.28 billion.

"Access to the public markets, as you've heard, is an important step in unlocking the value that's in Hecate's substantial backlog, and this transaction offers an attractive entry valuation, solid asset coverage and a clear near-term growth potential, making it a compelling opportunity for investors," EGH Acquisition CEO Drew Lipsher said.

Hecate, which develops, owns and operates utility-scale energy parks, has 48.8 gigawatts under development: 25 GW of renewables, 14.1 GW of energy storage and 9.7 GW of thermal generation. The Chicago-headquartered company has sold over 11 GW of that pipeline to third parties since 2021, creating "significant cash flow visibility from a $686 million revenue backlog," according to a presentation, and another 22 GW of "thermal and data center compatible sites."

"The focus of our pipeline is getting the designs enhanced to support energy campuses, including thermal [baseload generation] and the colocation of data centers, and also working with the data centers themselves to put together the offtake or revenue contract," Bullinger said.

"A significant portion of Hecate's pipeline is already well suited to colocate the data center at the exact site where Hecate is already developing the power plant" to bypass the grid interconnection process, Bullinger added.

The company does not include a project in its pipeline until it has "at least 50% of the land under control or in final negotiations, which is a pretty stringent criteria, I think, relative to the rest of the industry," Hecate President and CEO Chris Bullinger said.

In addition to focusing on regions where behind-the-meter power and microgrids are approved for initial data center connections, Hecate has "deep experience" working with electric co-ops that can provide "some grid-tied capacity without having to have a project advance all the way through a process of the [independent system operator]," Nick Bullinger said, adding that Hecate is also working on its first order for reciprocating internal combustion engines.

While the company already has a minority stake in independent power producer Fullmark Energy, a joint venture with InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd. focused on standalone battery storage, Hecate itself is exploring expanding into that business.

"If Hecate is able to select projects from its pipeline where it could choose to deploy the long-term equity, Hecate could establish the ability to earn returns from the entire life-cycle of a power plant, all the way from development, construction, commissioning, operations and eventually repowering," Chris Bullinger said.

The executives declined to comment when asked about a dispute with lender New Energy Capital Partners LLC, but EGH Acquisition's Lipsher said the SPAC is "very confident that the issue is going to be resolved satisfactorily in order to close the transaction."

The lawsuit stems from a settlement reached between Hecate parent Hecate Holdings LLC and European energy giant Repsol SA in July 2025 to acquire what was Repsol's 40% stake in the company. A fund managed by New Energy Capital Partners sued the company days later for excluding them from the Repsol settlement negotiations.