Middle River Power (MRP) has acquired the 427 MW Panoche Energy Center in Firebaugh, California, from an Ares Infrastructure Equity fund, adding a fully contracted, fast-ramping gas plant to its flexible capacity portfolio as demand for dispatchable resources grows across the Western Interconnection.
The deal, which closed on October 6, 2026, gives MRP control of a simple-cycle natural gas facility built around four GE LMS100 aero-derivative turbines. Located in the San Joaquin Valley about 50 miles west of Fresno, the plant is designed for quick response rather than baseload operation, making it a fit for a grid increasingly dominated by variable solar and wind.
Flexibility as the selling point
Panoche’s value lies in its ability to ramp up and down quickly to balance the system when renewable output swings. Aero-derivative turbines like the LMS100 can start and adjust output faster than traditional heavy-frame gas units, which is precisely what grid operators need as California adds more intermittent generation.
The facility has contracts covering all of its capacity, providing stable cash flows and reducing merchant risk. For MRP, Panoche serves as a core building block in a strategy focused on flexible, dispatchable capacity that the company can pair with storage and sell to utilities, data centers and industrial customers.
Hybrid model already in place
MRP is not treating Panoche as a standalone gas plant. The company plans to pair its thermal capacity with battery storage to create hybrid resources that can deliver energy and grid services more efficiently.
That model is already operational on the same site. The adjacent Panoche Hybrid Energy Center — a 49.5 MW gas turbine paired with a 57 MW/57 MWh battery — began commercial operation in January under contracts with PG&E and Central Coast Community Energy. A separate 59.5 MW battery project is under construction nearby and is expected to come online in April 2027.
Together, these assets position the Panoche site as a flexible hub rather than a single-purpose plant, able to provide energy, capacity and ancillary services as market needs evolve.
Part of a wider Western expansion
The Panoche acquisition follows two other major additions earlier this year: the 240 MW Midway-Sunset facility in Kern County, California, and the 250 MW Brush plant in Morgan County, Colorado. Combined with Panoche, MRP has added more than 900 MW of capacity across the Western Interconnection in 2026 alone.
That rapid build-out underscores MRP’s bet that the West will need more flexible thermal and hybrid resources even as renewables expand. Data center load growth, electrification of transport and industry, and the retirement of older thermal units are all expected to tighten supply margins and increase the value of fast-ramping, dispatchable assets.
Ares exits after two decades
Ares Infrastructure Equity, which backed Panoche from its development roughly 20 years ago, worked closely with MRP to ensure a smooth transition. The sale marks an exit for Ares on an asset that has long served as a key flexibility resource in California’s grid.
For MRP, the acquisition is less about expanding fossil capacity for its own sake and more about securing strategic nodes where gas, storage and future technologies can be layered to meet reliability and decarbonization goals.
Panoche is a clear signal: in the West’s energy transition, gas is not just legacy infrastructure but, in some cases, a platform for hybridization and grid flexibility.
The push for flexible, dispatchable resources comes as large corporate buyers also drive massive new renewable builds. In Indiana, Zelestra recently closed $350 million in financing for the 203 MW Reclamation Solar project, backed by a long-term power purchase agreement with Meta, as part of a broader U.S. expansion targeting hyperscalers and data centers.
Factsheet: Middle River Power acquires Panoche Energy Center
Project: Panoche Energy Center
- Location: Firebaugh, California (San Joaquin Valley, about 50 miles west of Fresno)
- Capacity: 427 MW natural gas, simple-cycle
- Technology: Four GE LMS100 aero-derivative turbines (fast-ramping)
- Contracting status: Fully contracted
- Primary role: Flexible, dispatchable capacity for a high-renewables grid
Transaction
- Buyer: Middle River Power (MRP)
- Seller: Ares Infrastructure Equity fund
- Deal status: Closed on October 6, 2026
- Prior ownership: Ares since the project’s development, approximately 20 years
Existing and planned hybrid assets on site
- Panoche Hybrid Energy Center: 49.5 MW gas turbine plus 57 MW/57 MWh battery, operational since January, contracted with PG&E and Central Coast Community Energy
- Nearby battery project: 59.5 MW, under construction, expected online in April 2027
MRP’s 2026 Western expansion
- Midway-Sunset: 240 MW, Kern County, California
- Brush: 250 MW, Morgan County, Colorado
- Panoche: 427 MW, Firebaugh, California
- Total added capacity in 2026: More than 900 MW across the Western Interconnection
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