Duke Energy closes $109.4 million funding from Goldman Sachs

Duke Energy Renewables, the renewables arm of Duke Energy, has closed USD 109.4 million in a preferred tax equity funding from investment banker Goldman Sachs' Alternative Energy Investing Group.

Duke Energy Renewables operates wind and solar generation facilities across the United States, with an aggregate 3 GW of electric capacity.

Furthermore, this investment will be used over 18 months to fund a diverse portfolio of approx 75 MW of solar and solar plus storage projects, which will be developed and constructed by REC Solar, a subsidiary of Duke Energy Renewables.

Commenting on the development, Chris Fallon, president of Duke Energy Renewables, said that “Goldman Sachs’ investment will support Duke Energy Renewables’ continued growth in the distributed energy space, which will further our goals of delivering long-term value to customers and investors.”

Fallon further added that “this is just one more way we’re providing reliable and cost-effective renewable energy to businesses and communities across the United States.”

Also, the projects will feature both groundmount and rooftop commercial and industrial (C&I) projects, as well as community solar projects across several states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Texas. 

Besides, Goldman Sachs's investment structure, monetizing both cash and tax attributes generated by the projects, is uniquely tailored to finance large, distributed portfolios of renewables assets.

Monetizing the investment in this way allows Duke Energy Renewables to free up capital to continue to invest in its distributed generation portfolio. 

“Our partnership with Duke Energy Renewables demonstrates the benefits of an integrated approach to financing high-quality distributed solar projects at scale. By combining the financing of tax and cash attributes into a single product, Goldman Sachs is able to provide sponsors like Duke Energy Renewables with comprehensive and flexible financing solutions tailored to each individual portfolio's needs,” said Vivek Kagzi, of Goldman Sachs' Alternative Energy Investing Group.

The portfolio comprises behind-the-meter and utility-scale installations that will provide power to a wide range of private sector and public sector customers through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs).