DSD Secures $200 Million Preferred Equity Investment from Ares Management to Support Strategic Growth

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – March 3, 2022 – DSD Renewables (DSD) today announced it has secured a $200 million preferred equity investment from a fund managed by the Infrastructure and Power strategy of Ares Management Corporation (Ares) to fuel its continued strategic growth. The capital will be used to support DSD’s expanding pipeline of future projects in the commercial and industrial (C&I) market, grow its Developer Network, support corporate needs, and provide readily accessible capital for asset acquisitions.

“Bringing on another top tier investor to support business growth validates DSD’s approach and the power of our platform,” says Greg Fabso, CFO at DSD. “This investment from Ares, along with continued support from BlackRock Real Assets, will enable us to scale further as we strategically build out more renewable energy projects across the country, take on new partners, and grow our asset base.”

“This investment from Ares will enable [DSD] to scale further as we strategically build out more renewable energy projects across the country.”

DSD spun out of General Electric with backing from BlackRock Real Assets in mid-2019 as a C&I developer, financier, asset owner and operator. Since then, DSD has grown significantly, expanding into community solar and asset acquisition in 2020, and launching its Developer Network and DSD Connect platform in 2021.

DSD’s backlog of contracted and awarded projects has more than doubled each year since 2019, with 2021 seeing a 150% increase. DSD has a pipeline of over one GW of solar and energy storage projects today.

“Ares is excited to support the future growth of DSD as a market leader in C&I solar and storage, and we look forward to helping DSD execute on its growth plans,” says Mike Roth, Partner in Ares Infrastructure and Power. “We believe that there is significant potential for the continued expansion of the solar market in providing sustainable, cost-effective energy to businesses. This investment is another example of how our flexible capital enables us to help accelerate the transition to renewable energy and positively impact communities.”