Private Equity Wins Big Flipping Natural Gas Plants in AI Race

Gas-fired power plants, once unloved bets, are now a hot trade for private equity.

Energy Capital Partners is among investors profiting by flipping natural gas plants to electricity producers, which are scrambling to meet demand for power driven by artificial intelligence. The firm paid $2.3 billion last year to buy gas and coal generation assets from a Blackstone Inc. and ArcLight Capital Partners joint venture, according to people familiar with the matter.

In January, roughly five months after completing the deal, ECP agreed to sell the three gas plants it had just acquired to Talen Energy Corp. for $3.45 billion ...