Duke Energy to sell distributed generation portfolio in $364 mln deal

NiSource

05/07/2023 13:44

July 5 (Reuters) - Utility firm Duke Energy  DUK.N  said
on Wednesday it would sell its commercial distributed generation
business to private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners in a
$364 million deal.
    The business includes operating assets of REC Solar, which
Duke had acquired in 2015, development pipeline and operations
and maintenance portfolio, as well as distributed fuel cell
projects managed by Bloom Energy  BE.N .
    Duke said it expects about $259 million of proceeds from
this sale, which the company would use to help incorporate more
than 30,000 megawatts of regulated renewable energy into its
system by 2035.
    Electric utilities in the United States are streamlining
their operations to shift away from fossil fuels toward cleaner
energy sources, including solar and wind, to meet climate goals.
    Duke's peers such as FirstEnergy  FE.N  and NiSource  NI.N 
have also sold stakes in their subsidiaries this year as they
seek to invest in cleaner sources of energy.
    "The sale of commercial renewables businesses streamlines
our portfolio and provides the resources to support our growing
regulated territories," said Duke President and CEO Lynn Good.
    The deal is expected to close by the end of 2023.
    

 (Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
 ((Tanay.Dhumal@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/TanayDhumal;))