Project Expected to Create 500 Construction Jobs, Spur Local Economic Development
Will Help Meet Rising Electricity Demand from Growing Economy and AI/Data Center Innovation
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Blackstone (NYSE: BX), through funds affiliated with Blackstone Energy Transition Partners (collectively, “Blackstone Energy Transition Partners”), today announced a $1.2 billion investment to build Wolf Summit Energy (“Wolf Summit”), a fully contracted, 600-megawatt greenfield combined-cycle gas turbine (“CCGT”) power generation facility in Harrison County, West Virginia. Last week’s Final Investment Decision (“FID”) provides financing for the project, allowing it to commence construction.
Wolf Summit will be the first-ever combined-cycle natural gas power plant built in West Virginia and is designed to help deliver efficient and reliable power to meet the growing local energy needs – including from data centers supporting AI innovation – of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), which serves approximately 1.5 million residents across Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The project is expected to create 500 construction jobs, as well as spur additional local economic development.
Bilal Khan, a Senior Managing Director, and Mark Zhu, a Managing Director, at Blackstone, said: “Helping meet the rising demand for electricity from AI and other areas is among our highest conviction investment themes at Blackstone. We are proud that this project is expected to not only create hundreds of local jobs in West Virginia, but also generate more affordable, efficient and reliable power supply.”
“I am excited that the first-ever combined-cycle, natural gas power plant in West Virginia is being built using GE Vernova’s highly efficient and flexible 7HA.02 gas turbine that can provide capacity and energy for the rising AI and industrialization demands in PJM,” said Dave Ross, President & CEO, GE Vernova’s Gas Power business in the Americas. “We look forward to working closely with Blackstone to complete development and start construction of this important project for the community.”
“West Virginia’s status as a global energy player is only beginning to be realized. Blackstone’s $1.2 billion investment not only signifies its commitment to West Virginia, it highlights our emergence as the leading state in the country for energy growth and investment,” said Governor Morrisey.
Blackstone is a leader in investing in the infrastructure powering AI across a wide array of related areas. Blackstone is the largest data center provider in the world with major investments globally. Blackstone Energy Transition Partners has also made recent investments in Hill Top Energy Center, a 620-megawatt natural gas power plant in Western Pennsylvania, and Potomac Energy Center, a 774-megawatt natural gas power plant in Loudoun County, Virginia, and has invested in approximately 1,600 megawatts of new-build power generation capacity over the last three and a half years in the United States.
About Blackstone Energy Transition Partners
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners is Blackstone’s strategy for control-oriented equity investments in energy-related businesses, a leading energy investor with a successful long-term record, having committed over $27 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry. Our investment philosophy is based on backing exceptional management teams with flexible capital to provide solutions that help energy companies grow and improve performance, thereby delivering more reliable, affordable and cleaner energy to meet the needs of the global community. In the process, we build stronger, larger scale enterprises, create jobs and generate lasting value for our investors, employees and all stakeholders. Further information is available at https://www.blackstone.com/our-businesses/blackstone-energy-transition-partners/.
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which the firm invests. Blackstone’s over $1.2 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries and hedge funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
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Jennifer Heath
Jennifer.Heath@Blackstone.com