Duke Energy sells minority interest in commercial renewable energy portfolio

Duke Energy sold a minority interest in a portion of its commercial renewable energy portfolio, which is owned by its affiliate, Duke Energy Renewables, to the John Hancock Infrastructure Fund.

The fund is part of Manulife Investment Management and the John Hancock Life Insurance Co.

“We’re excited to begin partnering with John Hancock to continue providing clean and affordable energy to our customers across the country,” Rob Caldwell, president of Duke Energy Renewables, said. “So far this year, we’ve announced more than 1,100 megawatts of additional renewable energy projects that will come online by the end of 2020, including our largest ever wind and solar projects. We see a bright future for renewables investment and this collaboration will help us deliver long-term value to customers and investors.”

Hunton Andrews Kurth served as legal advisor to Duke Energy. John Hancock was advised by Mayer Brown and Day Pitney.

“We believe this investment with Duke Energy represents a rare opportunity to acquire a diversified, large scale renewable energy portfolio alongside a high-quality partner and operator,” Recep Kendircioglu, portfolio manager of JHIF and Head of John Hancock’s Infrastructure Investments, said. “We share a common view on the importance of renewable energy in the U.S. and we look forward to a successful partnership with Duke Energy.”

Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., serves approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky. Duke Energy Renewables operates wind and solar generation facilities across the United States, with a total electric capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

Manulife Investment Management, based in Toronto, is the asset management arm of Manulife Financial Corp. John Hancock is a division of Manulife Financial.