Dive Brief:

• Optim Energy, a Texas generator owned by a Bill Gates investment fund, has filed for bankruptcy.
• Optim owns three power plants in east Texas totaling about 1,200 MW and was losing money on them. The company may try to sell its 305-MW coal-fired Twin Oaks power plant near Bremond, Texas.
• Optim was a joint venture created in 2007 by Cascade Investments and utility company PNM Resources. In 2011, PNM exited the joint venture when it decided to get out of its unregulated operations.

Dive Insight:

Despite its connection to billionaire Bill Gates, Optim was never able to get going. In 2007, the joint venture planned on buying or building power plants in Texas and across the Southwest. When the recession hit in 2008 and power markets slumped, Optim dropped plans to expand the Twin Oaks plant and focused on maintaining its three plants. This appears to be one of Bill Gates' energy investments that didn't pan out.