$49.5 Million
USD Transaction with Qcells
$45 Million
Valued Acquisition of Solar Flow-Through Funds Ltd.
$25.8 Million
Royal Bank of Canada Project Finance Facility
Nasdaq Global Market and Cboe Canada
Listings
TORONTO, Jan. 29,
2025 /PRNewswire/ - SolarBank Corporation
(Nasdaq: SUUN) (Cboe CA: SUNN) (FSE: GY2) ("SolarBank" or the
"Company") today announces highlights and new milestones
reached during the 2024 calendar year. The company remains
committed to pioneering the design, delivery, and management of
safe, reliable, and clean energy sources throughout North America.
Over $67.5 Million USD
Committed by Strategic and Financial Partners:
- US$49.5 Million transaction
with Qcells for the sale and subsequent construction
of four solar projects in New York
State. The projects will utilize Qcells modules manufactured
in the USA. Nearly $2.8 billion USD is being invested by Qcells to
boost U.S. domestic solar manufacturing and innovation to support
and accelerate the U.S. clean energy transition
- $25.8 Million Royal Bank
of Canada Project Finance facility to be used to develop and
construct two battery energy storage projects acquired as part of
the Solar Flow-Through Funds Ltd. acquisition
Corporate Development:
- Nasdaq Listing - The Company began trading on the Nasdaq
Global Market on April 8, 2024.
SolarBank has qualified under the Nasdaq Global Market® tier, which
has the second highest eligibility requirements
- Cboe Canada – The Company listed for trading on
February 14, 2024. In North America, Cboe's U.S. and Canadian
equities trading venues handle over $67
billion USD combined in average daily notional value
(ADNV)
- Board Expansion - SolarBank appointed Chelsea L. Nickles to its board of directors as
an independent director. Ms. Nickles is a renewable energy
professional with over 20 years of experience contributing to a net
zero world. For nearly the past decade, Ms. Nickles has been
focusing on developing offshore wind projects in multiple
jurisdictions with Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind. Ms.
Nickels currently holds the title of Director with Ørsted and
serves as a director for several offshore wind companies where she
helps to steer their success
- Key Acquisition - The Company closed its
acquisition of Solar Flow-Through Funds Ltd. ("SFF"). This
transaction valued SFF at up to $45M
but the consideration payable excludes the common shares of SFF
currently held by the Company
- New Strategic Focus to Include Data Center Colocation
- The Company announced that in alignment with its commitment
to harnessing clean energy technologies, SolarBank intends to
pursue opportunities as a developer, owner, and strategic partner
in data center infrastructure, supporting the demand for
high-performance, sustainable energy solutions within the emerging
AI and data center sectors
Marquis Power Projects Underway:
- $41 million USD
transaction with Honeywell International Inc. ("Honeywell") sees
mechanical completion reached on the SB-1, SB-2 and SB-3 Community
Solar Projects acquired by Honeywell. The projects are being
constructed under an engineering, procurement, and construction
("EPC") Contract with SolarBank. SolarBank also expects that it
will retain an operations and maintenance contract for the projects
following the completion of construction
- Fiera Real Estate Transaction. The Company has commenced
construction on a 1.4 MW DC rooftop solar project for Fiera Real
Estate ("Fiera") in Alberta
as a pilot project. Fiera Real Estate is a leading investment
management company that globally manages over $7.0 billion USD of commercial real estate
through a range of investment funds and accounts as of December 31, 2023. The project represents
SolarBank's first construction project for Fiera, with more
expected.
Other Operational Highlights
- January 2024: SolarBank
completed mechanical construction on the 3.7 MW DC Geddes project
being developed by the Company in Geddes, New York. The project is expected to provide
green energy to 500 homes once operational. The Company intends to
own and operate the Geddes project
- January 2024: SolarBank executed a lease agreement
on a site in Greenville, New York.
SolarBank intends to develop two 7 MW DC (14 MW DC total)
ground-mount solar power projects on the site. The project is
expected to operate as a community solar site, selling credits to
subscribers. 1,600 homes are expected to receive green energy once
the system is operational. The Company believes these projects will
be eligible for incentives under the New
York State Energy Research and Development Authority
("NYSERDA") NY-Sun Program
- January 2024: SolarBank
executed a lease agreement on a 15-acre site in Nassau, New York. SolarBank intends to develop
a 3 MW DC ground-mount solar power project on the site which is
expected to operate as a community solar site, selling credits to
subscribers. 350 homes are expected to receive green energy once
the system is operational. The Project is expected to be eligible
for incentives under the NYSERDA NY-Sun Program
- February 2024: SolarBank executed lease agreements
on two closed landfill sites located in Skaneateles, New York and Lewiston, New York, respectively. The Company
intends to develop three ground-mount community solar projects
across the two sites with a capacity of 19.3 MW DC. The project is
expected to operate as a community solar site, selling credits to
subscribers. 2,260 homes are expected to receive green energy once
the system is operational. The Company's subsidiary was the
successful proponent in an RFP from the private owner of the sites.
The projects are expected to be eligible for incentives under the
NYSERDA NY-Sun Program
- April 2024: SolarBank closed its previously
announced acquisition of a development stage solar project located
in the Town of Camillus, New York
on a closed landfill from Storke Renewables, LLC. SolarBank intends
to develop a 3.15 MW DC ground-mount solar power project on the
site that will operate as a community solar project. 360 homes are
expected to receive green energy once the system is operational.
The project is expected to be eligible for incentives under the
NYSERDA NY-Sun Program
- April 2024: SolarBank partnered with TriMac
Engineering of Sydney, Nova Scotia
to develop a 10 MW DC community solar garden in the rural community
of Enon, Nova Scotia, and three 7
MW DC projects in Sydney,
Halifax and Annapolis,
Nova Scotia respectively (the
"Projects"). The Projects are being developed under a Community
Solar Program announced by the Government of Nova Scotia on March 1,
2024, and owned by AI Renewable Fund. 4,000 homes are
expected to receive green energy once the system is operational
- June 2024: The Company
entered into a loan agreement with Seminole Financial Services, LLC
for an initial US$2,600,000
construction to mini-perm loan used to complete construction of the
Geddes Project located in Upstate, New
York
- July 2024: Provided an update on its 3.25 MW DC
ground-mount solar power project located in the Town of Camillus, New York on a closed
landfill. The project has now received its plan approval and
special use permit from the town of Camillus
- August 2024: The Company announced that it intends
to develop a 7 MW DC ground-mount solar power project known as the
Oak Orchard project located in Clay, New
York
- September 2024: The Company announced it intends to
develop a 5.4 MW DC ground-mount solar power project known as the
Boyle project located in
Broome County, New York. The
project is expected to employ agrivoltaics (the dual use of land
for solar energy production and agriculture) including sheep
grazing with a local agricultural partner
- September 2024: The Company announced it intends to
develop a 7 MW DC ground-mount solar power project known as the Hwy
28 project on a 45-acre site located in Middletown, New York
- October 2024: The Company announced it intends to
develop a 2.9 MW DC ground-mount solar power project known as the
Silver Springs project located in
Gainesville, New York
- October 2024: The Company announced intention to
develop a three-project plan totalling 24.8 MW DC in Pennsylvania. Subject to approval of
legislation by the Pennsylvania
government, the Company intends to develop community solar projects
on the sites
- October 2024: The Company announced it intends to
develop a 7.2 MW DC ground-mount solar power project known as the
North Main project located in Wyoming
County, New York
- November 2024: The Company announced it intends to
develop a 3.1 MW DC ground-mount solar power project known as the
West Petpeswick project located in
Nova Scotia
Dr. Richard Lu, CEO of
SolarBank said: "We experienced another year of tremendous
growth and accomplishments in 2024 with a number of significant
milestones achieved, including project completions, major
acquisitions, execution on the development pipeline, major project
sales and senior stock exchange listings. We predict
continued forward momentum on these projects and new initiatives,
on all of which we will provide ongoing updates as
appropriate."
Risk Factors
There are several risks associated with the development of the
projects detailed in this press release. The development of any
project is subject to the continued availability of third-party
financing arrangements for the project owners and the risks
associated with the construction of a solar power project. There is
no certainty the projects disclosed in this press release will be
completed on schedule or that they will operate in accordance with
their design capacity. If the EPC agreements are terminated, then
SolarBank will not realize the full contract value. In addition,
governments may revise, reduce or eliminate incentives and policy
support schemes for solar power, which could result in future
projects no longer being economic.
SolarBank is expanding into the data center industry, but it
does not currently have any data center projects under development
or that it has secured rights to. SolarBank does not have any
contracts with the parties mentioned in this news release. It is in
discussions with various other parties regarding potential data
center opportunities and will provide details in a future news
release if an agreement to acquire or develop a data center is
concluded. The development of any data center project is subject to
identifying a suitable project site, receipt of required permits,
entry into contracts for construction and the use of the data
center, the availability of third-party financing arrangements for
the Company and the risks associated with the construction of a
data center.
Please refer to "Forward-Looking Statements" for additional
discussion of the assumptions and risk factors associated with the
statements in this press release. Please also refer to SolarBank's
filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR at www.sec.gov for
additional information on the matters disclosed in this press
release.
Where applicable Canadian dollar amounts have been converted to
US dollars using an exchange rate of Cdn$1.00: US$0.70.
About SolarBank Corporation
SolarBank Corporation is an independent renewable and clean
energy project developer and owner focusing on distributed and
community solar projects in Canada
and the USA. The Company develops
solar, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and EV Charging
projects that sell electricity to utilities, commercial,
industrial, municipal and residential off-takers. The Company
maximizes returns via a diverse portfolio of projects across
multiple leading North America
markets including projects with utilities, host off-takers,
community solar, and virtual net metering projects. The Company has
a potential development pipeline of over one gigawatt and has
developed renewable and clean energy projects with a combined
capacity of over 100 megawatts built. To learn more about
SolarBank, visit www.solarbankcorp.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian
securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking
statements") that relate to the Company's current expectations and
views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve
discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result",
"are expected to", "expects", "will continue", "is anticipated",
"anticipates", "believes", "estimated", "intends", "plans",
"forecast", "projection", "strategy", "objective" and "outlook")
are not historical facts and may be forward-looking statements and
may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could
cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those
expressed in such forward-looking statements. In particular and
without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking
statements pertaining to the Company's expectations regarding its
industry trends and overall market growth; the Company's growth
strategies the expected energy production from the solar power
projects mentioned in this press release; the number of homes
expected to be powered by the Company's development projects; the
reduction of carbon emissions; the receipt of incentives for the
projects; the expected value of EPC Contracts; and the size of the
Company's development pipeline. No assurance can be given that
these expectations will prove to be correct and such
forward-looking statements included in this news release should
not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the
date of this news release.
Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and
analyses made by the Company in light of the experience and
perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected
future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate
and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In making the forward
looking statements included in this news release, the Company has
made various material assumptions, including but not limited to:
obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals; that regulatory
requirements will be maintained; general business and economic
conditions; the Company's ability to successfully execute its plans
and intentions; the availability of financing on reasonable terms;
the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled staff; market
competition; the products and services offered by the Company's
competitors; that the Company's current good relationships with its
service providers and other third parties will be maintained; and
government subsidies and funding for renewable energy will continue
as currently contemplated. Although the Company believes that the
assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may
prove to be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure that actual
results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, investors should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Whether actual results, performance or achievements will conform
to the Company's expectations and predictions is subject to a
number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and
other factors, including those listed under "Forward-Looking
Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information
Form for the most recently completed financial year, and
other public filings of the Company, which include: the
Company may be adversely affected by volatile solar power market
and industry conditions; the execution of the Company's growth
strategy depends upon the continued availability of third-party
financing arrangements; the Company's future success depends partly
on its ability to expand the pipeline of its energy business in
several key markets; governments may revise, reduce or eliminate
incentives and policy support schemes for solar and battery storage
power; general global economic conditions may have an adverse
impact on our operating performance and results of operations; the
Company's project development and construction activities may not
be successful; developing and operating solar projects exposes the
Company to various risks; the Company faces a number of risks
involving Power Purchase Agreements ("PPAs") and project-level
financing arrangements; any changes to the laws, regulations and
policies that the Company is subject to may present technical,
regulatory and economic barriers to the purchase and use of solar
power; the markets in which the Company competes are highly
competitive and evolving quickly; an anti-circumvention
investigation could adversely affect the Company by potentially
raising the prices of key supplies for the construction of solar
power projects; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; a change in the
Company's effective tax rate can have a significant adverse impact
on its business; seasonal variations in demand linked to
construction cycles and weather conditions may influence the
Company's results of operations; the Company may be unable to
generate sufficient cash flows or have access to external
financing; the Company may incur substantial additional
indebtedness in the future; the Company is subject to risks from
supply chain issues; risks related to inflation; unexpected
warranty expenses that may not be adequately covered by the
Company's insurance policies; if the Company is unable to attract
and retain key personnel, it may not be able to compete effectively
in the renewable energy market; there are a limited number of
purchasers of utility-scale quantities of electricity; compliance
with environmental laws and regulations can be expensive; corporate
responsibility may adversely impose additional costs; the Company
has limited insurance coverage; the Company will be reliant on
information technology systems and may be subject to damaging
cyberattacks; the Company may become subject to litigation; there
is no guarantee on how the Company will use its available funds;
the Company will continue to sell securities for cash to fund
operations, capital expansion, mergers and acquisitions that will
dilute the current shareholders; and future dilution as a result of
financings.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required
by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not
possible for the Company to predict all of them or assess the
impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or
combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially
from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/solarbank-announces-2024-highlights-302362929.html
SOURCE SolarBank Corporation
