Shell Sells U.S. Gas Plant for $715 Million in Power Portfolio Shake-Up
Shell is reshuffling its U.S. power generation portfolio, agreeing to sell its interests in a 609-megawatt New England natural gas power plant for $715 million while acquiring a smaller gas-fired generation business serving the PJM electricity market.
Shell Energy North America will sell its interests in RISEC Holdings to Constellation Energy Generation, the company said Thursday. RISEC owns a two-unit combined-cycle natural gas plant serving the ISO New England wholesale electricity market.
At the same time, Shell will acquire 100% of Hunlock Creek Generating from Riverview Power Holdings, an indirect subsidiary of Castleton Commodities International. Hunlock owns 169 MW of gas-fired generation in Pennsylvania, comprising a 125-MW combined-cycle facility and a 44-MW simple-cycle peaking plant. Shell did not disclose the acquisition price.
The deal gives Shell additional flexible generation and capacity exposure in PJM Interconnection, which operates the wholesale electricity market across 13 states and the District of Columbia and serves more than 65 million people. Shell said Hunlock will complement its existing natural gas and power trading operations.
The RISEC divestment is notable because Shell only completed its acquisition of the facility in January 2025, after announcing the transaction in October 2024. At the time, Shell said owning the plant would secure long-term electricity supply and trading opportunities in New England.
Shell had already been taking the plant's full electricity output under an energy conversion agreement dating back to 2019. That arrangement will terminate when Constellation completes the acquisition. Shell said the $715 million transaction allows it to bring forward returns it had expected to generate from longer-term ownership and will result in a significant gain, although it did not quantify that gain.
The two transactions illustrate Shell's asset-backed power trading strategy, under which the energy major selectively owns generation and storage assets to support its trading positions while selling assets when valuations offer an opportunity to crystallize returns.
Shell said the Hunlock acquisition is expected to generate returns above the investment thresholds set for its power business at its 2025 Capital Markets Day.
Both transactions remain subject to regulatory approvals and are expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.
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