PGE places USD-150m green bond for wind, solar in Oregon

Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR), or PGE, has sold USD 150 million (EUR 129m) of green bonds to refinance its investment in a 380-MW complex combining wind, solar and energy storage in Oregon.

The company said on Friday this inaugural green bond placement has been six times oversubscribed. It also recently amended its revolving credit line, extending its maturity, increasing its size and introducing a sustainability-linked pricing structure.

“We fully expect the debt markets will play an important role in achieving sustainability objectives by directing funds toward projects that have a meaningful impact on decarbonization and other environmental and social goals. We are pleased to be able to integrate our sustainability strategy with our financing activities,” said CFO Jim Ajello.

Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, and BNP Paribas were among the green bond’s lead underwriters.

The project in Oregon for which the company will use the proceeds -- the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility -- was developed by PGE and NextEra Energy Resources LLC. Near the end of 2020, they brought online a 300-MW wind farm, which will be joined by a 50-MW photovoltaic (PV) park and a 30-MW battery storage system this year to form the hybrid facility. PGE owns a portion of the capacity and will be buying the full output for 30 years.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.862)

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