2 minute read | October.14.2026
Stark Power announced a definitive agreement to acquire the Cottage Grove energy campus from Ultra Capital and Panamint Capital. The campus includes an operating 262 MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant and a co-located 80 MW / 320 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
The battery project is expected to enter commercial operation in 2028. It will be built on the same site and connect through the plant's existing grid interconnection.
Orrick advised Stark Power.
Stark Power is a power plant and powered land infrastructure development company focused on the U.S. market. Founded by former senior executives of Enlight Renewable Energy and Nofar Energy, it pursues large-scale opportunities at the intersection of power generation and digital infrastructure, leveraging deep experience in power development, capital markets and project execution.
The plant provides reliable, dispatchable generation in the MISO market, where electricity demand is growing, and new dispatchable capacity can be challenging to permit and bring online.
The plant currently is contracted with Northern States Power Company, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy. Beginning December 2027, the plant will transition to a 15-year tolling agreement with Basin Electric Power Cooperative through 2043. The plant also supplies steam to 3M's adjacent manufacturing site. The BESS is contracted under a 15-year tolling agreement with Northern States Power Company.
Cottage Grove marks another major step in Stark Power's rapid build-out since its formation.
The Orrick team is led by Bradford Gathright and includes Jonathan Ayre, Ari Bessendorf, Matthew E.S. Coleman, Bart Kempf, A. Cory Lankford, Jeanine P. McGuinness, Rohit Sachdev, Kaleb Walker, Lauren Buehler, Lisa van Velsor, Armando Arballo, Ryan Chastain, ThuyMy Do, Chandler Dorris, Sara Forden, Kayla Grant, Samuel Lee, Katie Tarvardian, Allison Bradham and Noah Nance.