Asheville-based solar power company Pine Gate Renewables could eliminate 223 more workers as it works through bankruptcy. The company, which at one time employed more than 1,000 workers, laid off about 500 workers in October.
Pine Gate filed for bankruptcy last week. It reportedly had $4.4 billion in debt against just $8.5 million in cash, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. On Oct. 6, Pine Gate received $412 million in “bridge” financing from debtors-in-possession to help it continue operations.
Pine Gate initiated a court-supervised Chapter 11 sales process “that will ultimately result in transitioning ownership of our solar and storage project fleet,” according to a notice filed with the state Department of Commerce. “As part of this process, the company entered into a series of agreements with certain of its secured lenders who have agreed to purchase Pine Gate’s assets, independent power producer platform and substantially all of our development pipeline.”
The company continues to look for someone to acquire the company. In October, Pine Gate laid off about 500 people who worked for Blue Ridge Power assigned to offices in Fayetteville and Asheville. Only 51 people remain working for Blue Ridge Power, the engineering, procurement and construction division of Pine Gate Renewables.
Employees from CEO Ben Catt to warehouse workers could lose their jobs starting Jan. 5-19, according to a filing made to the N.C. Department of Commerce.
“While we are hopeful that we will be able to identify future employment opportunities for our employees with our new owners, it is possible that there will be headcount reductions as a result of the sales process,” according to a notice filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce.
Since 2024, Pine Gate has been soliciting interest from potential buyers and investors, but none have materialized, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston.
Its debt is spread out across $2 billion of construction debt, $1.4 billion in corporate-level debt and $1 billion of outstanding preferred equity. It owes about $1.4 billion to private equity firms, including Fundamental, Carlyle, Brookfield and Pathward.
Pine Gate was founded in 2016 and grew rapidly as a developer and operator of utility-scale solar energy and storage projects across the country. It’s closed on approximately $10 billion worth of projects and at one time had more than 1,000 employees. It has 109 operating sites in more than 30 states.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has used his second term to end projects related to wind and solar energy. In July, Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that ended subsidies for solar and wind energy projects years earlier than planned. Developers and analysts predicted that the legislation would slash the installation of renewable energy over the next decade.
High interest rates, tariffs and the elimination of federal investment tax credits for solar projects under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” have “also substantially cooled interest in investing in or acquiring solar projects,” according to the bankruptcy court filing.
Company officials could not be immediately reached for comment.