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Suez Acquires 30% Interest in Astoria Energy Power Plant

Posted on: Monday, 26 May 2008, 00:00 CDT

Suez Energy North America has acquired a 30.45% equity interest in the 575MW Astoria Energy power plant in New York City from SCS Energy.

Suez Energy North America (SENA) has said that the power plant, primarily fueled by clean burning natural gas, began operating in 2006 and is located in the Queens borough of New York City, less than five miles from Manhattan and within the New York Independent System Operator's (NYISO) Zone-J market.

It is reportedly the most recent power plant built in New York City. The majority of Astoria Energy's 500MW capacity is being purchased by ConEdison of New York, under a power purchase agreement. A second phase for a 500MW unit is reported to be in an advanced stage of development.

This acquisition marks SENA's entry into the critical Zone-J market and reflects the company's focus on four core electricity market regions, New England, New York, Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas region.

Together, these regions represent 15% of the land area in the US and more than 30% of the nation's electricity demand. All four regional markets are deregulated wholesale electricity markets.

Zin Smati, president and CEO of SENA, said: "New York City is a high-value market with high barriers to entry for new generation. Acquiring a sizable interest in a newly-built, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly facility in one of the nation's largest deregulated electricity markets is an important step in the expansion of our power generation portfolio in the US."

Source: Datamonitor

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