EnergyRe Closes $815M for 360 MW of SC Solar as Duke Starts Grid Work
EnergyRe closed $815 million in financing Oct. 12 for five South Carolina solar projects totaling about 360 MW, ENR reports, while Duke Energy Progress has started below-grade work on $10.1 million of grid infrastructure for Culpepper Solar.
Market Impact
Bank of America, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Santander participated in the financing, which EnergyRe says is backed by 25-year power purchase agreements. The developer did not name the projects. In February it announced a five-project, 360-MW South Carolina portfolio: Shorthorn (Lee County), Clarendon (Clarendon County), and Culpepper, Rollins and Ross (Darlington County). The count, capacity and PPA terms match, but EnergyRe has not confirmed to ENR that the two announcements cover the same projects. The deal supports the company’s stated goal of investing $2 billion in South Carolina by 2030, according to its CFO.
Duke Energy Progress told the South Carolina Public Service Commission on Sept. 30 that below-grade work had begun on the Byrdtown Road 230-kV substation serving Culpepper. The scope also includes a Culpepper Solar 230-kV switching station, an approximately 370-ft generation tie line, and a reconfiguration of the Robinson Plant-Florence 230-kV line. Four existing transmission structures will be replaced with five new ones. Each site sits on about seven acres provided by Culpepper Solar, which bears the cost. Completion is projected for April 2029. The land transfer for the substation site was still being processed. The filing covers utility infrastructure, not the solar array.
In Darlington County, the council rejected a nine-month moratorium on new solar and wind projects 5-3 on Sept. 10, then adopted Ordinance 26-06 amending renewable-energy standards. The Planning Commission recommended 100-ft setbacks from property lines, 600 ft from residences, continuous vegetative screening, and financial assurance of at least $50,000 or 125% of estimated decommissioning costs, whichever is greater. The county reported 622 acres in solar use and 12,553 acres in various stages of development.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- No GC or package is named. EnergyRe has not disclosed contractors or schedules for the five financed projects, and it is unclear how much of the $815 million funds new work versus projects already underway. The company says it broke ground on about 450 MW over the past year.
- Civil and substation trades: Below-grade work at Byrdtown Road is already moving, and the site land transfer was still pending as of Sept. 30. The source does not say who is building it. Duke’s next quarterly filing to the PSC is the likeliest place to see progress.
- Line and electrical scopes: The 370-ft tie line, the Robinson Plant-Florence 230-kV reconfiguration and the four-for-five structure swap are defined scopes with an April 2029 finish. Whether Duke self-performs or subcontracts is not stated.
- Darlington County civil and landscape work: The Planning Commission’s recommended setbacks, screening and decommissioning assurance would affect site layout, buffer installation and bonding on Culpepper, Rollins and Ross. The source does not confirm the adopted ordinance matches those recommendations, so verify the text of Ordinance 26-06 before pricing.
- Local opposition: A petition with 115 verified signatures targets a different project near Deer Run Drive and Clyde Road. ENR found no opposition aimed at EnergyRe’s three Darlington projects.
