Berkshire Unit Sells $1.1 Billion in Rare 31-Year Green Bond

(Bloomberg) — Power utility PacifiCorp sold $1.1 billion of environmentally-friendly bonds due in 2053, the longest maturity to be offered in the sustainable debt market from a US corporation this year.

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The offering from the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. unit is one of the longest maturities from a green corporate issuer in the US ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The green bonds yield 1.53 percentage points above Treasuries, after initial discussions of around 1.8 percentage points, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund a range of eligible projects that include renewable energy, clean transportation and climate change adaptation, according to Berkshire Hathaway Energy’s green financing framework. The Portland, Oregon-based power utility raised $1 billion through similar bonds last year.

PacifiCorp is among 11 companies that rushed to the US high-grade market on Tuesday to raise new capital ahead of anticipated volatility. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak Wednesday, with key inflation data to follow Thursday and the monthly US employment report on Friday.

Bonds earmarked for environmental, social and governance projects are accounting for a smaller share of global corporate debt issuance in 2022, marking the first decline in their relatively short history, according to data compiled by BloombergNEF. Global sales of green bonds total about $465 billion year-to-date, roughly 13% less than at the same point last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Read more: Corporate ESG Debt Sales Are Losing Market Share: ESG Investing

Bank of Montreal, PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Toronto-Dominion Bank and Wells Fargo & Co. managed the bond sale, said the person.

–With assistance from Venty Mulani and Brian Smith.

(Updates with pricing details in second paragraph, bond issuance in fourth paragraph and green bond sales data in fifth paragraph.)