US-based Vistra has completed the acquisition of Energy Harbor Corp, adding approximately 4,000 MWe of 24/7 nuclear generation and approximately 1m additional retail customers. This follows receipt of all required regulatory approvals. Energy Harbor's nuclear fleet comprises the two-unit Beaver Valley NPP in Pennsylvania, as well as the single-unit Davis-Besse and Perry plants in Ohio. Vistra operates the Comanche Peak plant and its used fuel storage facilities in Texas.
Jim Burke, Vistra President & CEO said: “We now own the second-largest competitive nuclear fleet in the US, complementing our existing reliable, flexible, and dispatchable generation assets and our leading retail business." He added: "We remain focused on advancing our four strategic priorities of reliably serving our customers and communities through our integrated wholesale and retail business, consistently returning capital to our shareholders, maintaining our balance sheet strength, and supporting the clean-energy expansion.”
As a result of acquiring Energy Harbor, Vistra:
- brings its products and services to market in 20 states and the District of Columbia, including all major competitive wholesale power markets in the US;
- becomes the largest competitive power generator in the US, operating some 41,000 MWe of installed generation capacity, including four nuclear generation facilities totalling more than 6,400 MWe;
- has the second-largest energy storage capacity in the US at around 1,020 MWe, including one of the world's largest battery energy storage facilities;
- has a growing portfolio of solar assets, including some 340 MW already online;
- through its many retail brands, serves approximately 5 million residential, business, and commercial/industrial customers;
- combines its nuclear fleet with its retail business and its operating renewable and energy storage projects in a subsidiary called Vistra Vision, which will continue to be operated on an integrated basis with the company's dispatchable and reliable fossil fleet in Vistra Tradition– a portfolio backed by more than 20,000 MW of highly efficient natural gas generation capacity;
- employs about 6,800 people across the US.
The combined company's headquarters will be in Irving, Texas, with regional offices in Houston; Akron, Cincinnati, and Columbus, Ohio; King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; and Collinsville and Oak Brook, Illinois.
Image: The two-unit Beaver Valley nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania (courtesy of Energy Harbor)