Strategic partnership created between Duke Energy, Integrys and Smart Energy for U.S. solar projects

Oct 22, 2010 - Syanne Olson - pv-tech.org

Duke Energy announced the partnership it has built with Integrys Energy Services and Smart Energy Capital to build and finance distributed solar projects in the U.S. The collaboration will start with Duke Energy Generation Services (DEGS) and Integrys jointly owning rooftop and small ground-mounted PV solar projects, which will distribute electricity to investment-grade commercial, government and utility customers under long-term PPAs. Smart Energy will handle the development and financial organizing for the projects.

"What makes this partnership unique in the marketplace is its focus on distributed solar solutions that produce renewable electricity close to where it is used, rather than at centralized power plants," said Greg Wolf, DEGS senior vice president and head of the unit's commercial solar business. "The companies involved bring a wealth of project development, construction, management and financing expertise to the partnership."

DEGS and Integrys have both agreed to give an equal amount of required equity capital for the construction and ownership of the projects and estimate that over US$180 million will be invested by the two companies during the next two years.

"We have invested more than $65 million in 20 different distributed generation solar projects across the U.S. with a combined capacity of more than 10MW," said Joel Jansen, managing director and head of energy assets at Integrys Energy Services. "Partnering with DEGS and Smart Energy Capital enables us to expand our presence in this market in an efficient, strategic manner."

The projects are expected to start at 500kW and increase according to customer needs. DEGS and Integrys will manage the operating and maintenance of the projects and monetize all federal tax benefits while Smart Energy will bring in CB Richard Ellis and Tremco Roofing to offer customers sustainability and energy objectives.