DSD Renewables receives $250 million backing from Cox Enterprises to accelerate projects in target markets
Solar

DSD Renewables receives $250 million backing from Cox Enterprises to accelerate projects in target markets

DSD Renewables has received a $250 million strategic investment from Cox Enterprises, Inc. which will enable DSD to further accelerate renewable energy deployment.

“We’ve been growing the business in a disciplined way and sort of progressively along the strategy of moving past going directly to host customers and into our project acquisition strategy,” Eric Pollock, CCO at DSD Renewables, told Renewable Energy World.

“We knew that we wanted to seek another partner to be able to assist us in our growth, and we’re really excited to have Cox alongside us now,” he continued. “We think it’s a really good opportunity for the business and for them to be a part of the organization and system.”

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According to Pollock, this chunk of money will help accelerate deployment in target markets to host customers, including large corporations like Home Depot and Lowe’s. “We really want to continue to listen to their needs to expand and deploy renewables at a greater clip.”

He says these large companies need a roadmap to reach their climate goals.

“That no longer means approaching two or three of those sites is really a feasible approach,” realizes Pollock. “They need to now start to think about how they approach and have a game plan to attack a larger swath of that portfolio.”

“Our growth, initially fueled by BlackRock’s faith in us, now enters a new chapter with Cox that will advance our position as a cleantech leader and scale our business. This partnership is a testament to how far we’ve come and our unwavering commitment to accelerating renewable energy solutions deployment,”

Erik Schiemann, CEO at DSD

Since 2019, DSD has raised more than $2 billion in investments, developing and deploying more than 600 MW of solar and storage projects across the country. Pollock believes DSD has an important role in shaping interconnection, particularly in the growing community solar industry.

“Our role, really, is to enable efficient deployment and kind of foster that accelerated deployment of renewables for where it’s best possible, and where it’s most efficient,” he explained. “If we want to be one of the agents to sort of lift all boats in this space, we need to be able to foster efficiency.”

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Cox (yes, the same parent company as the familiar media entity) continues to expand its portfolio into cleantech and renewable energy. This marks its largest such investment to date.

“The management team at DSD has built an impressive business with a bright future,” said Will Thorburn of Cox Cleantech. “The way they are benefiting both business and the planet shows their ability to think innovatively and operate with purpose. We are looking forward to working with DSD to have an even larger impact in the years to come.”

BlackRock’s climate infrastructure business is currently and will remain the majority stakeholder in DSD, alongside Cox.