aescayuga plant120On May 17th Riesling Power LLC announced it has purchased the Cayuga and Somerset power plants from Upstate New York Power Producers, Inc.  The sale follows a tumultuous fight plant owners ultimately lost to get state Public Service Commission (PSC) approval for a plan to repower the coal-fired Lansing plant with natural gas.

"We are pleased to have finalized the acquisition of Somerset and Cayuga," said Nazar Khan, Executive Vice President of Beowulf Energy.  "We have already begun the process of integrating both plants and their highly-valuable professionals into our company and look forward to ensuring they continue to support the long-term energy needs of New York."

Riesling Power LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Heorot Power LLC.  Heorot Power also owns five natural gas and coal-fired power generating facilities across the United States.  It is managed by Beowulf Energy LLC, a New York company.

The acquisition was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in January.  While the PSC ruled against the Cayuga Power Plant repowering plan, it approved the sale of the two plants in February.  Tompkins and Niagara County officials also approved the plan.

"We appreciate that the State and PSC have the difficult job of balancing environmental, economic and energy demands in order to ensure a reliable grid for New York," added Michael Enright, Managing Director at Beowulf Energy.  "We believe these facilities are critical to the State's commitment to a high-quality and efficient energy delivery system.  We plan to work with the State, the PSC and other major stakeholders in the months ahead to achieve that balance and ensure a smooth transition."

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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