After agreeing to sell its utility-scale renewables business to Brookfield, Duke has now found a buyer for its distributed generation business and will exit solar and wind project development and owning completely. ArcLight Capital Partners, a middle market infrastructure investor, will purchase the DG business for $364 million, inclusive of non-controlling tax equity interests. Duke Energy expects approximately $259 million of proceeds from this transaction, which is subject to certain customary adjustments and will be received upon closing.
“The sale of our commercial renewables businesses streamlines our portfolio and provides the resources to support the long-term needs of our customers in our growing regulated territories,” said Lynn Good, Duke Energy Chair, President and CEO. “Over the next decade, we plan to invest significant amounts of capital to fund the critical energy infrastructure necessary to serve our customers and support our clean energy transition.”
The distributed generation business being sold includes REC Solar/Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions operating assets, development pipeline and O&M portfolio, as well as distributed fuel cell projects managed by Bloom Energy. Employees of the distributed generation business will transition to ArcLight to maintain business continuity for its operations and customers.
“Our investment in Duke Energy’s commercial distributed generation business supports ArcLight’s long-standing strategy of acquiring operating assets from leading strategics and creating strong stand-alone renewable platforms. We believe this is an attractive opportunity to acquire a first-rate commercial distributed generation portfolio, partner with a talented team and build upon longstanding, high quality customer relationships,” said Marco Gatti, Managing Director at ArcLight.
News item from Duke Energy