Innovative
"Solomon
Hills" project will support 4,000
Central Coast working families near Vandenberg Space Force
Base
LOS
ANGELES, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadiz,
Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI / CDZIP, the "Company") announced today that the
Company and Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company ("Fenner Gap") signed a
water supply agreement with Solstra Communities California LLC
("Solstra") for delivery of 1,275 acre-feet per year of water from
the Cadiz Water Supply and Storage Project to support development
of more than 4,000 homes for military and working families along
the Central California coast.
Today's announcement is the first time Cadiz has contracted with
a housing developer for water supply. Water supply from Cadiz will
be delivered through exchanges of water with regional water
contractors utilizing the Company's Northern Pipeline, a 220-mile
natural gas pipeline originally built to transport oil from the
California coast to Texas oil refineries. The water supply
agreement announced today ("Solstra Agreement") follows execution
of three additional water supply agreements entered since the
beginning of the year reserving a total of 15,000 acre-feet per
year (AFY). Following execution of the Solstra Agreement, 65% of
the capacity of Cadiz's Northern Pipeline is under contract.
"We need water to solve the housing crisis in California," said Susan Kennedy, CEO of Cadiz, Inc. "We are proud
to work with innovative companies like Solstra who are at the
forefront of building sustainable communities with safe
neighborhoods and affordable homes for working families."
Solstra, owner of private land near Vandenburg Space Force Base,
is pursuing development of up to 4,000 sustainable housing units,
parks, trails, open space, to support military families and a
diverse workforce in the aerospace industry as well as education,
manufacturing, and healthcare services in the area. Approximately
70% of the homes are intended for working families and first-time
buyers.
In a statement about the Agreement, Solstra said: "Solstra's
vision for Solomon Hills is to create attainable homes for working
families in a new, sustainable community. Cadiz's innovative
approach to deliver sustainable, clean, reliable, affordable water
to meet California's housing needs
is aligned with Solstra's bold vision for the Solomon Hills
project. Solstra is excited to partner with Cadiz, and for Cadiz to
become part of a diverse portfolio of water supply sources needed
for a development of the scale."
Under California's state
housing plan, one million of the 2.5 million required homes that
must be built by 2030 to address the state's urgent housing crisis
must meet the needs of lower-income households. California law also requires new housing
development to demonstrate access to reliable water prior to
construction.
Under the terms of the Solstra Agreement, water supply will be
made available to Solstra via the Coastal Branch of the State Water
Project through an exchange with one or more contractors of the
California State Water Project. Cadiz expects to receive net
revenue of approximately $850 per AF
in 2024 dollars for water purchased
by Solstra over the contract term.
The Company's Northern Pipeline has a delivery capacity of
25,000 AFY. Following execution of the Solstra Agreement,
approximately 65% of the delivery capacity of the Northern
Pipeline, or 16,175 AFY, has been reserved under water supply
agreements, with the remaining capacity in the final stages of
contracting.
The Company anticipates final development of the Northern
Pipeline conversion project will occur in 2024, with construction
beginning in 2025 and commencement of water delivery as early as
2026.
About Solstra Communities California, LLC
Solstra Communities California, LLC is a U.S.-based company
backed by private investors dedicated to creating thoughtful,
sustainable, resilient communities through the repurposing and
revitalizing of unique properties such as Solomon Hills. Solstra
leadership has a demonstrated track record of creating sustainable
neighborhoods, engaging in extensive community collaboration
efforts, and managing complex, long-term projects in Denmark and throughout Europe. They have assembled a local project
team, along with international sustainability experts, to guide
them in creating a model sustainable community for Santa Barbara County's working families.
Solstra purchased Pacific Coast Energy Company (PCEC) and its
assets in 2019. The acquisition included the 1,903-acre Solomon
Hills area in northern Santa Barbara
County.
About Cadiz, Inc.
Founded in 1983, Cadiz, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI) is a California water solutions company dedicated
to providing access to clean, reliable and affordable water for
people through a unique combination of water supply, storage,
pipeline and treatment solutions. With 45,000
acres of land in California, 2.5 million acre-feet of water supply,
220 miles of pipeline assets and the most
cost-effective water treatment filtration technology in the
industry, Cadiz offers a full suite of solutions to address the
impacts of climate change on clean water access.
Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company is the non-profit corporation
established by Cadiz to distribute water supplies from the Cadiz
Water Conservation, Supply and Storage Project.
For more information, please
visit www.cadizinc.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, the ability of the
Company to achieve its strategic objectives related to the Cadiz
Water and Storage Project, including the Company's objectives to
complete final project design, engineering and related permitting
of the Northern Pipeline in 2024, begin construction in 2025 and
commence water delivery as early as 2026, which ability is subject
to significant business, economic, political and competitive
risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of
the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can
give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.
Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from those reflected in the Company's forward-looking
statements include potential delays in achieving our strategic
objectives resulting from delays in the supply chain for materials
or other factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings. We undertake no obligation to publicly update
any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be
made from time to time, whether as a result of new information,
future developments or otherwise.
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SOURCE Cadiz, Inc.