Blackstone Affiliate Pays $1B for NoVA Natural Gas Power Plant
The facility helps power much of the data center capacity across the region
By Nick Trombola January 27, 2025 5:42 pm
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Blackstone (BX)’s energy infrastructure arm has acquired a massive power plant in Northern Virginia’s data center alley, for a sum typical of the investment behemoth.
Blackstone Energy Transition Partners paid about $1 billion for the 774-megawatt Potomac Energy Center — a natural gas power plant just south of Leesburg, Va., at 20260 Energy Park Drive — according to Reuters, citing a source familiar with the deal. Ares Management (ARES) sold the facility, which was built in 2017.
Given its location in Loudoun County — arguably the beating heart of data center infrastructure in the U.S. — Potomac Energy Center is well positioned to power much of the submarket’s growth in the region, Bilal Khan, senior managing director at Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, said in a statement.
“Potomac is one of the most efficient gas power plants in the region and has the potential to integrate a hydrogen fuel blend in the future, which could provide future environmental benefits,” added Mark Zhu, managing director at Blackstone Energy Transition Partners.
A representative for Ares declined to comment.
Demand for data centers, and its accompanying infrastructure, has exploded in recent years, with the market having doubled in capacity since 2020, according to an August report by JLL (JLL). And Blackstone is far from the only conglomerate flashing its checkbook for such facilities in 2025.
Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm BlackChamber Group, for example, secured $1.2 billion in construction loans over the past year to develop four hyperscale data centers across Northern Virginia. The facilities are expected to host more than 740 megawatts of capacity once completed.
Microsoft, meanwhile, announced in early January that it would spend $80 billion this fiscal year developing data centers specifically focused on artificial intelligence, with most of that investment activity planned within the U.S.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
