Thailand’s power producer, Gulf Energy Development Plc, has completed a deal to acquire a 49 percent stake in the 1,200-megawatt gas-fired power project in Illinois as part of its expansion efforts in the United States.
“As electricity demand in the United States continues to increase, Gulf sees the opportunity to develop other power projects and is also considering the potential for additional investments with various partners, including J-POWER, who has a number of renewable energy projects under development in the United States,” she said.
Jackson Generation began commercial operation on May 4, 2022, and supplies electricity to the Pennsylvania Maryland Interconnection (PJM) merchant market, which provides wholesale electricity to 13 states in the United States.
Gulf currently has total capacity of 9.4-gigawatts, with a target to reach 14.5 gigawatts by 2027, most of it in Thailand.
The company is owned by Thai billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi, who Forbes ranks as the country’s fourth richest.
Gulf Energy has been diversifying its business into digital infrastructure, and took a controlling stake in InTouch Holdings Plc, which owns Thailand’s top mobile operator, AIS, in 2021.In January 2022, the company announced a joint venture with the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, to set up an exchange in Thailand.