Duke Energy to go greener with USD-600m bond issue

US utility Duke Energy Progress issued a green bond of USD 600 million (EUR 535.1m) to raise financing for green energy projects.

The utility’s parent company Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) said Thursday that the proceeds would support solar generation projects in the North and South Carolina, among other investments.

The green bond pays a 3.45% fixed-rate coupon and has ten years to maturity. The bonds were priced on March 4 and the company completed the transaction on March 7. Investment banks Academy Securities Inc and CL King & Associates were among the underwriters that participated in the bond issue.

Duke Energy has set its sights on reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. So far, it has managed to cut emissions by 31% from 2005 levels. Retiring 12 older coal-fired plants, increasing nuclear generation capacity and adding more than 2 GW of built or purchased solar capacity are among Duke Energy Progress' achievements towards the goal over the last decade.

According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, USD 18.9 billion worth of green bonds were issued during January and February 2019.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.89)

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