The U.S. saw 12 power generation assets come online in August, bringing 1,571 MW to the grid. Two large gas-fired plants made up most of the new capacity.

Three new projects were announced during the month, totaling 307 MW. Solar led with 58% of the share, and natural gas accounted for the remaining 42%.

Completed

The largest generating facility to come online in August was the 1,050-MW Moxie Freedom Generating Plant in Luzerne County, Pa., in the PJM Interconnection region. Ownership of the four-unit, gas-fired facility is split among private equity investors First Reserve Management LP, John Hancock and Global Infrastructure Partners, with Williams Partners LP's Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline project providing fuel supply. Independent power producers Caithness Energy LLC and Moxie Energy LLC developed the project.

Kings Mountain Energy Center in Cleveland County, N.C., was the second-largest plant to come online, at 475 MW. Private developer NTE Carolinas and equity investors Axium Infrastructure Inc., Capital Dynamics Holding AG and Wattage Finance-NC LLC own the plant. Its output is committed to nine municipal utilities in North and South Carolina under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The third-largest plant to come online, the Delta Solar Power II Project, is also the largest among the renewable projects. The facility, together with Delta Solar Power I, is in Eaton County, Mich., and is owned by CMS Enterprises Co., an unregulated affiliate of CMS Energy Corp. The output of both Delta Solar plants, totaling about 23 MW, is under contract with the city-owned Lansing Board of Water & Light.

Announced

Lakeland Electric, the utility owned by the city of Lakeland, Fla., acquired a never-used, gas-fired turbine it will install to replace a unit at its C.D. McIntosh Jr. ST plant in Polk County, Fla., that was irreparably damaged after a mechanical failure in 2017. S&P Global Market Intelligence refers to the new unit as C.D. McIntosh Jr. CTP-A and Auburndale Repower as the turbine was originally slated for Calpine Corp.'s Auburndale Energy Center CT.

Two other solar facilities were announced: the 102-MW Reiher Solar in Upton County, Texas, and the 75-MW Tarboro Solar (Invenergy) in Edgecombe County, N.C. Reiher Solar is owned by EnergieKontor US Inc., an affiliate of Germany-headquartered renewable energy developer Energiekontor AG, and has an estimated construction cost of nearly $244 million. Invenergy LLC owns Tarboro Solar, which has an estimated construction cost of $180 million. Both facilities are scheduled for completion in 2020.

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