It pays to invest in America. That’s the view of Thailand’s Gulf Energy, which said it plans to buy another gas-fired power plant in the United States to fuel its international expansion and stay competitive through acquiring the latest technologies on the market.

Gulf Energy Development is Thailand's largest private-sector power company by market value. Chief Executive Officer Sarath Ratanavadi said that Gulf is planning to acquire a new American gas-fired power plant with electricity generation capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

He did not reveal, however, which power plants he is considering for purchase, but there is little doubt that it would be one with advanced technologies.

“One reason we have invested abroad is to keep updated on technological development in the energy sector,” Sarath said.

An acquisition would not be the first for Gulf in the U.S.  In 2023, the company acquired a 49 percent share in Jackson Generation, a gas-fired power plant in Illinois with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts. Gulf paid $400 million for its stake.

Jackson Generation has been operating since May 2022 and supplies electricity to the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection merchant market, also known as PJM.

PJM is the wholesale electricity market for 13 states: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Gulf is also expanding into renewable energy. It has invested in wind energy in Germany and the North Sea. The company also operates five solar energy projects in Thailand, plus solar and wind energy facilities in Viet Nam.

Photo courtesy of www.facebook.com/GulfEnergyDevelopment