Asheville-based Pine Gate Renewables files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, plans to sell assets
ASHEVILLE — Pine Gate Renewables, the Asheville-based renewable energy developer and owner-operator that grew rapidly since opening in 2016, has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and will sell its assets and operations, the company announced Nov. 6.
As one of the leading solar development firms in the U.S., Pine Gate Renewables employs over 300 people in the United States and has closed on approximately $10 billion in project financing and capital investment since it was founded in Asheville, according to its website. It has developed over 100 new solar facilities. The company has more than 30 gigawatts of solar power in development.
The company plans to begin a sales process “for substantially all of its assets and business operations,” it announced in a Nov. 6 news release. The marketing and sales process is expected to be completed in approximately 45 days, the company said. The company headquarters is located off of Roberts Street in Asheville’s River Arts District. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings were initiated in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, according to the company’s release.
“To ensure that our projects continue generating renewable energy, we made the strategic decision to commence this court-supervised sales process. With significant financial support from certain of our current lenders, we’re confident that we will successfully conduct a competitive sales process that reflects the inherent value of our nationwide portfolio of solar and energy storage projects,” said Ben Catt, Chief Executive Officer of Pine Gate, in the Nov. 6 news release.
The company’s subsidiary, the Morrisville-based ACT Power Services, a wholly owned renewable energy operations and maintenance provider, is not part of the Chapter 11 process, but Pine Gate is in “active discussions” to sell the business, the company said.
In early 2024, Pine Gate announced an additional $650 million platform investment, meaning the money would be put toward maintaining and developing projects while continuing to work on staff resourcing. The funding came at a time of growth in the solar industry, Catt told the Citizen Times May 3, 2024.
From 2012 to 2024, renewable energy production has doubled its share of energy production in the U.S., growing from 12% to 24% of total production, according to the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Increased demand for data centers and A.I. is expected to require more energy capacity across the nation.
In December 2024, the company announced it had received final discretionary approval from the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council that it was developing “Sunstone Solar,” a solar and energy storage project it said was the largest of its kind in the U.S. The project is in Morrow County, Oregon, where the company had been moving forward with construction of 1200 MW in solar power and 1200 MW of energy storage.
Pine Gate’s Chapter 11 filing comes as the solar industry has faced headwinds under President Donald Trump. With the July passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” tax credits for the industry’s industrial and consumer-level products are set to wind down in 2025 and 2026, leaving some companies that developed around government incentives bracing for impact.
In September, Blue Ridge Power, a subsidiary of Pine Gate Renewables, issued a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, indicating the company would lay off approximately 517 staffers, the Citizen Times reported. At that time, Pine Gate spokesperson Kristen McKenzie said the move came amid “market headwinds similar to those impacting the entire renewable energy industry.”
The Citizen Times reached out to Pine Gate Renewables for comment.
This story will be updated.
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.