Constellation Buys 609 MW Rhode Island Gas Plant From Shell for $715 Million
- Capacity & Wholesale Markets News Policy & Markets
Marin Holt
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- 6 minutes read
- Constellation to acquire RISEC Holdings LLC for $715 million, about $580 million net of first year tax benefits
- Rhode Island State Energy Center is a 609 MW combined-cycle gas plant in Johnston, Rhode Island, serving ISO New England since 2002
- Shell separately acquiring Hunlock Creek Generating LLC, 169 MW of gas-fired capacity in PJM, terms not published
- Both deals expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals
Constellation Energy will pay $715 million for the Rhode Island State Energy Center, buying the 609 MW gas plant from Shell Energy North America. The companies announced the deal on September 10, 2026. The plant sits in Johnston, Rhode Island, and has sold into ISO New England since 2002.
Constellation is acquiring 100% of RISEC Holdings LLC, the entity that owns the plant. The company puts the effective price at roughly $580 million net of expected first year tax benefits. RISEC is a combined-cycle station built around two combustion turbines and one steam turbine.
Constellation says the purchase clears its 10% unlevered return threshold. It also says the deal leaves untouched the $5 billion in share repurchases it has authorized through the end of 2027. Shell expects both transactions to close in the first quarter of 2027, once customary regulatory approvals are in hand.
Shell is not walking away from merchant generation. In a separate transaction it will take 100% equity in Hunlock Creek Generating LLC, which holds 169 MW of gas-fired capacity in Pennsylvania serving PJM. That portfolio is a two-unit 125 MW combined-cycle plant plus a 44 MW simple-cycle peaker. Hunlock Creek belongs to Riverview Power Holdings LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Castleton Commodities International. Neither company published financial terms for it.
The Rhode Island sale closes a short holding period. Shell bought RISEC in 2025, when the plant was majority-owned by Carlyle. Joe Dominguez, Constellation chairman, president and chief executive, said the station is well positioned on both the electric grid and the natural gas pipeline system. He said it complements the New England customer business.
Why It Matters
Two gas plants changed hands in a single announcement, and neither buyer is a regulated utility. PwC counted a 173% rise in power market M&A value in the first half of 2026, to $216 billion. That is measured against the same period in 2025. It tied that surge in part to load growth from AI data centers. For anyone tracking New England capacity, the question worth following is what a first-quarter 2027 close does to how RISEC bids. The asset moves from a trading portfolio into a merchant fleet. That fleet sits behind a retail customer book, and the two owners do not face the same incentives. The regulatory approvals Shell flagged are where any conditions on that ownership would surface.
Critical Perspective
A record deal cycle is not a build cycle. The PwC figure measures ownership changing hands, and this transaction adds no megawatts to ISO New England. RISEC has run since 2002. New England gets the same 609 MW after the close that it has now, under a different owner.
The two price figures deserve a second look. Constellation quotes $715 million, then quotes roughly $580 million net of expected first year tax benefits. The lower number leans on a benefit the company itself describes as a first year effect. Anyone testing that 10% unlevered return threshold should ask what the arithmetic looks like in year two.
Timing is the other open question. The close is set for the first quarter of 2027 and depends on regulatory approval. That is a long wait for an asset bought to sit behind a New England customer business the company says is already growing.
