This news release constitutes a "designated news
release" for the purposes of the Company's prospectus supplement
dated May 23, 2024 to its short form
base shelf prospectus dated May 2,
2023
TORONTO, Nov. 27,
2024 /PRNewswire/ - SolarBank Corporation
(NASDAQ: SUUN) (Cboe CA: SUNN) (FSE: GY2) ("SolarBank" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce its subsidiary has
secured project financing in the form of a loan ("Loan") in
a principal amount of $3 million from
RE Royalties Ltd. (the "Lender"). The Projects (defined
below) 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 ProjectCos was acquired as part of the $45 million valued acquisition of Solar
Flow-Through Funds Ltd. that closed in July
2024.
The Company is developing three 4.99 MW Battery Energy Storage
System ("BESS") projects located in Ontario (the "Projects"). The Projects
are owned by 1000234763 Ontario Inc. and 1000234813 Ontario Inc.
("ProjectCos"). Solar High Yield Projects #1 Ltd.
("the Borrower") is the borrower under the terms of the
Loan.
Matthew Wayrynen, Chair of
SolarBank stated: "We are thrilled to continue our partnership with
RE Royalties to secure this financing for our BESS projects in
Ontario. Having worked with RE
Royalties on previous projects, we value their expertise and shared
commitment to sustainability. This financing is a key step toward a
cleaner future and the further diversification of SolarBank's
growing project portfolio."
Bernard Tan, CEO of RE Royalties,
stated: "We are excited to be working with the SolarBank management
team again on this transaction. The SolarBank team has a long
proven track record in developing, building and operating renewable
energy assets in North America.
These BESS projects will help the province of Ontario support renewable electricity
generation, build resiliency in the grid, and help lower emissions
compared to conventional sources."
The Loan will be advanced in a single installment and has a
maturity date of November 26, 2025.
The Loan bears interest at a rate of 11% per annum. As a condition
of the Loan a 0.40% royalty on the gross revenues generated by the
Projects has been granted to the Lender. The royalty rate shall be
reduced to 0.25% if the Loan is repaid within the first six months.
The Loan is secured by a first ranking security interest over all
assets of the Borrower, except for its shares in the capital of
theProjectCos. The Borrower is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Company. The Borrower has an indirect 50% interest in ProjectCos,
with the remaining 50% held by a partnership formed by First
Nations communities in Ontario.
The Loan is for incurred development and construction costs
for the Projects and the Company continues to advance a project
financing package for the full construction costs of the
Projects.
There are several risks associated with the development of the
Projects. The development of any project is subject to required
permits, the continued availability of third-party financing
arrangements for the Company and the risks associated with the
construction of a battery energy storage project. 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.
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1 https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/battery-energy-storage-market-100489
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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; the Company's advancement of a
project finance package for the Projects; the Company's growth
strategies the expected energy production from the Projects
mentioned in this press release; the timeline for construction of
the Projects; the receipt of permits and financing to be able to
construct the Projects; 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 financing for the full construction costs of the
Projects; 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,
including receipt of project financing for the full construction
costs of the Projects; 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
