taSignage is seen at the Blackstone Group headquarters in New York City, U.S., January 18, 2023.
The Hill Top Energy Center, a 620-megawatt natural gas plant that began operating in 2021, will be acquired by private equity funds linked to Blackstone Energy Transition Partners. The seller is Ardian, a private investment firm.
U.S. electricity demand is expected to reach record highs in 2025, driven by the rapid growth of data centers supporting AI and cryptocurrency applications, along with higher residential and commercial consumption. Blackstone said the Hill Top facility is well positioned to contribute to this expansion.
“The electricity infrastructure required to power the AI revolution requires a tremendous amount of capital,” Blackstone executives Bilal Khan and Mark Zhu said in a statement. “The Hill Top plant is well-positioned to support the boom.”
This agreement follows Blackstone’s July announcement of plans to invest more than $25 billion in Pennsylvania to strengthen digital and energy infrastructure for AI applications. The deal highlights the firm’s focus on assets that can meet the increasing demand for reliable power.
The acquisition also builds on Blackstone’s recent activity in the energy sector. Earlier this year, the company announced the $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy. In January, it invested in the Potomac Energy Center, a 774-megawatt natural gas plant in Virginia.
These transactions reflect Blackstone’s broader strategy of expanding investments in power generation assets that support both technological growth and energy reliability. The company emphasized that natural gas plants, such as Hill Top, provide essential capacity during times of high demand and play a key role in balancing the grid as new technologies scale.
The Pennsylvania acquisition is expected to strengthen regional energy infrastructure while providing Blackstone with a platform to address the increasing electricity needs tied to AI development. With data centers requiring large and consistent power supplies, facilities like Hill Top are becoming critical to meeting both immediate and future demand.
By adding Hill Top to its portfolio, Blackstone continues to align with long-term trends in the U.S. energy market, where technological advancements are driving significant shifts in consumption patterns. The firm’s growing portfolio of natural gas assets underscores its approach of combining capital investment with infrastructure development to support evolving energy requirements.
