SolarBank Announces Commencement of Construction of First Battery Energy Storage Project (BESS) in Ontario

Rhea-AI Summary

SolarBank (NASDAQ: SUUN) has announced the start of construction of its first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in Cramahe, Ontario, scheduled for February 10, 2025. The SFF-06 project is being financed through a $25.8 million loan from Royal Bank of Canada, with Anvil Crawler awarded a $1.85 million contract for civil and electrical work.

The project secured a 22-year contract with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) featuring a fixed contract capacity payment of $1,221/MW per business day, exceeding the weighted average price of $876/MW for storage projects. Once operational, the 4.74 MW project will be available for 251 business days annually. The project qualifies for a 30% Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit on eligible capital costs. SolarBank holds a 50% indirect interest in the project, with the remaining stake held by First Nations communities in Ontario.

Positive

• Secured $25.8M RBC financing for BESS project construction
• 22-year IESO contract with premium pricing of $1,221/MW per business day
• Eligible for 30% Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit
• Project entering high-growth market with 16.3% CAGR forecast through 2029

Negative

• Risks associated with battery degradation over time
• Project success dependent on third-party financing and permit approvals
• Vulnerability to potential government policy changes affecting incentives

Insights

Financial Analyst

The commencement of SolarBank's first BESS project represents a strategic entry into the rapidly expanding battery storage market, projected to reach $31.2 billion by 2029 with a 16.3% CAGR. The secured $25.8M RBC facility demonstrates strong institutional backing and validates the project's viability.

The 22-year IESO contract provides robust revenue visibility with fixed capacity payments of $1,221/MW per business day. Based on 4.74 MW daily contract capacity and 251 business days annually, this translates to potential annual capacity payments of approximately $1.45 million. The 39% premium over the weighted average market price ($876/MW) suggests superior project economics and negotiating leverage.

The 30% Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit significantly enhances the project's financial returns, effectively reducing capital costs and improving ROI. The 50-50 partnership with First Nations communities not only supports local engagement but also potentially opens doors for future project opportunities and government support.

This project marks SolarBank's strategic diversification from pure solar plays into the high-growth energy storage sector, positioning the company to capitalize on grid modernization initiatives and the increasing demand for energy storage solutions. The strong contractual framework and government incentives provide a solid foundation for the company's expansion in the BESS market.

Energy Infrastructure Specialist

The 4.99 MW BESS project is strategically sized to optimize grid services while managing regulatory requirements. The selection of Anvil Crawler, with its $1.85 million contract value, brings important expertise from Skyline's $5.4 billion portfolio of managed assets, significantly de-risking project execution.

The project's 22-year contract term with IESO is particularly noteworthy in the energy storage sector, where typical contracts often span shorter durations. This extended commitment period suggests sophisticated battery management and replacement strategies to maintain performance over the contract lifetime. The daily contract capacity of 4.74 MW represents 95% of the total system capacity, indicating conservative planning for degradation and maintenance requirements.

Ontario's grid modernization initiatives and increasing renewable energy integration create a compelling market opportunity for BESS projects. This installation will contribute to grid stability, peak shaving and frequency regulation services, essential for the province's evolving energy landscape. The project's structure and size position it well for potential expansion and replication across other sites in the region.

$25.8 Million Royal Bank of Canada Facility is being used to finance
construction of the 4.99 MW BESS Project

TORONTO, Feb. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - SolarBank Corporation (NASDAQ: SUUN) (Cboe CA: SUNN) (FSE: GY2) ("SolarBank" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its first Battery Energy Storage System ("BESS") project located in Ontario is expected to commence construction during the week of February 10, 2025. The project is known as SFF-06 (the "Project") and is located in Cramahe, Ontario. The SFF-06 project is being financed through a combined loan for two projects (SFF-06 and 903) ("Loan") in a principal amount of $25.8 million from Royal Bank of Canada as Lender, Administrative and Collateral Agent and Green Loan Structuring Agent (the "Lender" or "RBC").

SolarBank has selected Anvil Crawler Development Corp. ("Anvil Crawler") to perform the civil and electrical work on the project and awarded Anvil Crawler a contract with an expected value of $1.85 million to complete such work. Anvil Crawler is part of Skyline Group of Companies (Skyline), a fully integrated asset acquisitions, management, development, and investment firm. With $5.4+ billion (as of December 31, 2020) in assets under management, Skyline has been building strong, supportive, and sustainable Canadian communities for 20+ years.

The Project is owned by 1000234763 Ontario Inc. ("ProjectCo") and ProjectCo is the borrower under the terms of the Loan. The Project represent SolarBank's initial foray into battery energy storage, a market forecast by Fortune Business Insights to grow at a 16.3% compound annual growth rate from 2022 to reach US$31.2 billion by 2029¹. SolarBank's interest in ProjectCo was acquired as part of the $45 million valued acquisition of Solar Flow-Through Funds Ltd. that closed in July 2024.

In July 2023, the Project was awarded a contract by the Independent Electricity System Operator ("IESO") under the Expedited Long-Term RFP (E-LT1 RFP). The contract, which has a term of 22 years, includes a fixed contract capacity payment of $1,221/MW per business day, significantly above the weighted average price of $876/MW for all storage category projects under the E-LT1 RFP. This underscores the competitive positioning of these projects in the Ontario energy storage market. The Company expects that once operational the Project will have 4.74 MW of daily contract capacity available (at a capacity payment to ProjectCo of $1,221/MW per business day) for 251 business days in a year.

Furthermore, the Project is eligible for the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit introduced in 2024. This refundable tax credit provides up to 30% reimbursement of eligible capital costs for new clean technology, significantly enhancing the economic returns of the projects. This aligns with SolarBank's commitment to leveraging government incentives to accelerate the transition to renewable energy while optimizing financial performance.

The Company has an indirect 50% interest in ProjectCo, with the remaining 50% held by a partnership formed by First Nations communities in Ontario.

There are several risks associated with the development of the Project. The development of any project is subject to required permits, the continued availability of third-party financing arrangements for the Company, the risks associated with the construction of a battery energy storage project and the degredation of battery storage capacity over time based on the number of discharge cycles. In addition, governments may revise, reduce or eliminate incentives and policy support schemes for battery energy storage, 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 projects and statements made in this press release.

¹ https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/battery-energy-storage-market-100489  

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 terms of the Loan; the use of proceeds from the Loan and draw downs under the Loan; the Company's growth strategies the expected energy production from the Project mentioned in this press release; the timeline for construction of the Project; the receipt of permits and financing to be able to construct the Projects; the receipt of incentives for the Project; 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 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; 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

What is the capacity and value of SolarBank's (SUUN) first BESS project in Ontario?

SolarBank's first BESS project in Ontario has a capacity of 4.99 MW and is being financed through a $25.8 million RBC facility.

What is the contract duration and daily capacity payment for SUUN's Ontario BESS project?

The project has a 22-year IESO contract with a fixed capacity payment of $1,221/MW per business day for 251 business days annually.

When will construction begin on SolarBank's (SUUN) Ontario BESS project?

Construction is scheduled to commence during the week of February 10, 2025.

What tax incentives is SUUN eligible for with its Ontario BESS project?

The project is eligible for the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit, providing up to 30% reimbursement of eligible capital costs.

Who owns SolarBank's (SUUN) Ontario BESS project?

SolarBank holds a 50% indirect interest in the project, with the remaining 50% held by a partnership of First Nations communities in Ontario.