Talen Energy is an independent power producer founded in 2015. It was formed when the competitive power generation business of PPL Corporation was spun off and immediately combined with competitive generation businesses owned by private equity firm Riverstone Holdings. Following these transactions, PPL shareholders owned 65% of Talen's common stock and affiliates of Riverstone owned 35%. As a condition for FERC approval Talen agreed to divest approximately 1,300 megawatts of generating assets in the PJM Interconnection Region to mitigate FERC's competitiveness concerns. On December 6, 2016, Riverstone Holdings completed the purchase of the remaining 65% of Talen's common stock, making it a privately owned company.

According to the Director of Corporate Communications the name "Talen Energy" symbolizes talent of the people who work for the company and energy in terms of the product it produces and what employees bring to their jobs. Talen "represents the idea of talented people energized to succeed." The company's colors or green and yellow were chosen based on then-CEO Paul Farr's love of the Green Bay Packers. Today, the company's logo is simply black and white.

On June 10, 2014, PPL announced that it would spin off its competitive energy business which would merge with Riverstone Holdings' operations to create Talen. The transaction needed approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, the FERC, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before its completion.

On February 2, 2015, PPL and Riverstone accepted the FERC's mitigation option in order to receive approval from FERC. The Pennsylvania PUC approval followed on March 11, 2015 when the PUC approved the transfer of PPL Electric Utilities' ownership in PPL Interstate Energy Company to Talen. The NRC's approval for the transfer of the Susquehanna Nuclear Plant licenses came on April 10, 2015 and on April 23, 2015, PPL received the final regulatory approval from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Talen Energy launched on June 1, 2015. PPL shareholders initially owned 65 percent and Riverstone owned 35% of the shares of the new company, whose shares trade on the NYSE under the symbol TLN.

On June 2, 2015, Paul Farr, President and CEO of Talen, and other executives rang the opening bell on the NYSE in celebration of the Talen Energy launch.

On October 8, 2015, Talen announced the sale of Ironwood Natural Gas plant to a TransCanada subsidiary for 654 million USD, and Holtwood and Wallenpaupack Hydro plants to Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners of Hamilton, Bermuda for 860 million USD.

Talen owns 15,320 megawatts of power generating capacity, and employs over 500 people in its headquarters in Allentown, as well as 3,000 others at plant locations in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Montana. It is the fourth-largest publicly traded independent power producer in the country.

Talen's generation facilities include nuclear, coal fired and natural gas power plants. The largest plant is the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a 2,700 MWe nuclear power plant, located on the Susquehanna River seven miles (11 km) northeast of Berwick, Pennsylvania.

The following is a list of Talen's current generation facilities owned by subsidiaries of Talen: