Renewables asset owner Brookfield Renewable has acquired a 19.7% indirect equity stake in US regional energy utility Duke Energy’s Florida portfolio.
Brookfield will invest in Florida Progress, the owner of Duke Energy Florida, acquiring its 19.7% stake in phases. Florida Progress will receive US$2.8 billion at first closing in early 2026, US$200 million by end-2026, US$2 billion in 2027 and US$1 billion in 2028. Brookfield may choose to fund the full US$6 billion earlier.
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The US$6 billion deal is being made through Brookfield’s Super-Core Infrastructure strategy. Of the US$6 billion, US$2 billion will support Duke Energy’s expanded US$87 billion five-year capital plan, while the remaining US$4 billion will be used to reduce holding company debt, bringing total investment to over $16 billion through 2029.
Duke Energy will retain an 80.3% stake and continue to operate the utility, while Brookfield will receive governance rights aligned with its ownership.
JP Morgan Securities acted as financial advisor to Duke Energy, with legal counsel from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Brookfield was advised by RBC Capital Markets and received legal counsel from Kirkland & Ellis.
Duke Energy, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, serves 8.6 million customers across six states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky – and owns projects with a total energy capacity of 55.1GW.
In November 2024, Duke Energy received approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) for its Carolinas Resource Plan. The plan, covering its integrated energy system across North and South Carolina, was approved in full and outlined the addition of multiple gigawatts of solar PV, energy storage and gas-fired capacity over six years. As part of the plan, Duke committed to adding 3,460MW of new solar PV, bringing its total operational solar capacity in the Carolinas to 6.7GW by 2031.
Additionally, the firm completed the sale of its utility-scale renewables business to Brookfield. The US$2.8 billion deal, first announced on 12 June 2023, allowed Duke Energy to shift focus toward expanding its regulated operations, including grid reliability upgrades and plans to integrate over 30GW of renewables into its system by 2035.
