Xcel Energy will buy two Calpine power plants near Denver for $739 million. The two plants generate 931 megawatts — enough to power about 700,000 homes, Minneapolis-based Xcel and Houston-based Calpine said Monday in a joint statement.
The purchase includes the 621-megawatt Rocky Mountain Energy Center near Hudson and the 310-megawatt Blue Spruce Energy Center near Aurora.
The plants, both powered by natural gas, were selling their electricity to Xcel, the owner of utilities that operate in eight states, under agreements that expire in 2013 and 2014, Calpine said in a regulatory filing.
Calpine offered to sell the plants and was evaluated to be a “least cost option” for generating electricity, Xcel said in a statement.
The sale, expected to close in December, needs approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Colorado Public Service Commission, according to the statement.
