$1.06 million USD in Government Incentives Awarded to SolarBank for Camillus Solar Project

Rhea-AI Summary

SolarBank (NASDAQ: SUUN) has secured $1.06 million USD in incentives from NYSERDA for the 3.26 MW Camillus Solar Project under the NY-Sun Program. This announcement follows the recent sale of the project to Solar Advocate Development for $7.3 million USD on March 19, 2025.

The project will be constructed as a ground-mount solar power installation on a closed landfill site and will operate as a community solar project. The awarded incentives are subject to NY-SUN Program Manual compliance, with installation required within 30 months of approval. Notably, these incentives do not increase the transaction value with the Owner.

Positive

• Secured $1.06M in government incentives from NYSERDA
• Project sale valued at $7.3M USD
• Demonstrates ability to secure government support for renewable projects

Negative

• Incentives don't increase transaction value
• Project completion contingent on third-party financing
• Risk of EPC agreement termination could prevent full transaction value realization

Insights

Financial Analyst

SolarBank's securing of $1.06 million in NYSERDA incentives for the Camillus project demonstrates their continued ability to navigate government renewable energy programs effectively. While these incentives don't increase the transaction value of the $7.3 million sale to Solar Advocate Development announced yesterday, they likely enhance the project's viability and reduce execution risk.

The incentive approval is significant because it represents approximately 14.5% of the total project value, improving the economics for the buyer while validating SolarBank's development approach. This structuring – where SolarBank develops projects, secures incentives, then sells to operators while retaining EPC contracts – suggests a capital-efficient business model focused on development fees rather than long-term asset ownership.

The timing is noteworthy – receiving incentive approval immediately after announcing the sale suggests well-coordinated project development. However, investors should note the explicit risks mentioned: the full transaction value depends on maintaining the EPC agreement, and future government incentives aren't guaranteed. With project completion required within 30 months, execution timeline risk exists.

Overall, this announcement reinforces SolarBank's capability in small-to-mid-scale community solar development, particularly in repurposing challenging sites like closed landfills, which often qualify for enhanced incentives but require specialized development expertise.

Renewable Energy Specialist

The $1.06 million NYSERDA incentive for SolarBank's 3.26 MW Camillus Solar Project represents a significant development in community solar infrastructure. At approximately $325 per kW, this incentive level aligns with NY-Sun program support for community solar projects with additional brownfield redevelopment considerations. Converting a closed landfill to productive solar generation demonstrates valuable land-use optimization.

Community solar projects like Camillus provide critical distributed energy benefits: they expand clean energy access to residents without suitable rooftops, strengthen grid resilience through geographical distribution, and often incorporate local workforce development. The 3.26 MW DC capacity suggests this installation will likely generate enough electricity to power approximately 400-600 homes annually.

From a technical perspective, landfill solar projects present unique engineering challenges – requiring specialized mounting systems that don't penetrate cap layers, stormwater management considerations, and gas migration monitoring. SolarBank's success securing these incentives suggests they've adequately addressed these technical complexities in their application.

The 30-month completion timeline provides reasonable flexibility for addressing potential construction and interconnection delays typical in landfill solar development. This project adds to New York State's growing community solar portfolio, supporting the state's aggressive climate targets while turning underutilized land into productive renewable energy assets.

TORONTO, March 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - SolarBank Corporation (NASDAQ: SUUN) )Cboe CA: SUNN) (FSE: GY2) ("SolarBank" or the "Company") is ‎pleased to announce that it has received approval from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority ("NYSERDA") for $1,058,616 USD in incentives for the 3.26 MW Camillus Solar Project (the "Project") under the NY-Sun Program. As disclosed on March 19, 2025, the Project has been sold to, and will now be constructed for, Solar Advocate Development LLC (the "Owner") in a transaction valued at $7.3 million USD.

Dr. Richard Lu, CEO of the Company commented: "SolarBank has a long-standing successful track record in working with government agencies in the United States and Canada to obtain government support and incentives for its clean and renewable energy projects. While the Camillus Project has been sold to Solar Advocate, the receipt of these incentives further demonstrates SolarBank's ability to execute and provide sustainable projects with robust financial returns."

The Project is being constructed as a 3.26 MW DC ground-mount solar power project on a closed landfill site and will operate as a community solar project. These incentives do not increase the value of the transaction with the Owner.

The award in the amount of $1,058,616 USD is contingent upon compliance with the terms and conditions of the NY-SUN Program Manual. The solar electric system installation must be completed within 30 months of the approval date.

There are several risks associated with the development of the Project. The development of any project is subject to the continued availability of third-party financing arrangements for the Owner, the ability of SolarBank to satisfy the conditions associated with the incentives, and the risks associated with the construction of a solar power project. If the Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") agreement with Solar Advocate is terminated, the Company will not achieve the full transaction 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. Please refer to "Forward-Looking Statements" for additional discussion of the assumptions and risk factors associated with the statements in this press release.

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, please 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 project mentioned in this press release; the expected value of the EPC agreement; the reduction of carbon emissions; and 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 Owner will continue to have access to financing to construct the Project; that the EPC agreement will not be terminated; 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 most recently completed Annual Information Form, 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; the EPC agreement is subject to termination in certain circumstances; 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 future impact of any resurgence of COVID-19 on the Company is unknown at this time; 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.‎

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SOURCE SolarBank Corporation

FAQ

How much are the NYSERDA incentives awarded to SolarBank (SUUN) for the Camillus Solar Project?

NYSERDA awarded $1,058,616 USD in incentives to SolarBank for the 3.26 MW Camillus Solar Project under the NY-Sun Program.

What is the total value of the Camillus Solar Project sale by SolarBank (SUUN)?

SolarBank sold the Camillus Solar Project to Solar Advocate Development for $7.3 million USD on March 19, 2025.

What is the completion deadline for the Camillus Solar Project by SolarBank (SUUN)?

The solar installation must be completed within 30 months of the NYSERDA approval date.

What type of solar installation is the Camillus Project by SolarBank (SUUN)?

The Camillus Project is a 3.26 MW DC ground-mount solar power project located on a closed landfill site, operating as a community solar project.