Cogentrix Adds Energy Marketing Function
Cogentrix Integrates Essential Power to Expanded Platform
Charlotte, NC and Princeton, NJ – The integration of Essential Power into the power generation portfolio of The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) has been successfully concluded. The Carlyle Group acquired Essential Power, a 1,767 MW (net) power generation portfolio (the “Essential Power Portfolio”) with headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, in 2016. While the various Essential Power entities continue to exist and maintain contractual relationships, the employees of Essential Power Services (“EPS”) and most operating employees of the Essential Power Portfolio are now employees of Cogentrix Energy Power Management, LLC (“Cogentrix”) and its subsidiaries, which are also owned by funds managed by The Carlyle Group. As part of the integration, EPS and its subsidiaries have subcontracted all of their service obligations to Cogentrix with respect to the Essential Power Portfolio. As such, Cogentrix has assumed operational and management responsibilities for the Essential Power Portfolio.
Cogentrix’ President Doug Miller noted, “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to work with our colleagues in Princeton and to support the Essential Power portfolio. The commercial capabilities of Essential Power, combined with the longstanding operational skillset of Cogentrix, make this a leading power asset management platform.”
Since Carlyle’s 2012 acquisition of Cogentrix, Carlyle has closed investments in 25 additional power plants located throughout the United States.
About Cogentrix
Cogentrix is a leading independent power producer with a long track record of successfully acquiring, developing, constructing, operating and improving power generation assets. Consistent with its engineering origins and culture, Cogentrix maintains a disciplined and well-designed approach to asset improvement. The firm’s ability to enhance value has resulted in achieving superior operating performance from its power generation assets while maintaining a minimal and well-managed risk profile. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Cogentrix is owned by funds managed by The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest alternative asset management firms, and serves as Carlyle’s in-house power asset management platform. The Cogentrix Team has extensive engineering and operational experience across a broad range of generation technologies, including: (a) gas- and oil-fired combined cycle, (b) gas-fired simple cycle, (c) coal-fired technologies, (d) solar power generation and (e) hydroelectric generation. The firm’s broad base of capabilities allows it to assist Carlyle in the assessment and pursuit of a wide array of market opportunities. Together, Carlyle and Cogentrix are focused on the acquisition and management of generating resources that exhibit opportunity to materially enhance value through environmental improvements, operational enhancement, commercial management and asset management. Since its founding in 1983, Cogentrix and its predecessors have been directly involved in the development, ownership, operations and management of coal-fired, natural gas-fired and solar power assets delivering a combined generating capacity in excess of 10 GW. Through the ownership and operation of these plants, Cogentrix has participated in most of the major power regions in the U.S. Cogentrix currently manages plants in the Carlyle portfolio, which has a total net generation of approximately 5,800 MW.