- 2 years ago
SolarBank recently made headlines for reaching commercial operation on a solar project in New York in collaboration with Honeywell International. This project involved the construction of a behind-the-key solar power plant to support Honeywell water treatment systems. The solar plant has a capacity of 683.55 kWdc and is expected to produce over 753,000 kWh of clean, renewable energy in its first year of operation.
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00:00 Hi, my name is Carly Lusk with Benzinga.
00:04 I am joined here today with Dr. Richard Liu, President and CEO of Solar Bank.
00:08 Dr. Liu, how are you?
00:09 I'm very good.
00:10 Thank you.
00:11 Well, I'm excited to learn more about what you guys are doing.
00:14 Let's kick it off.
00:15 Give us an overview of your company.
00:17 Wonderful.
00:18 It's great to be here, Harli.
00:20 And my name is Richard Liu.
00:21 I'm the President and CEO of Solar Bank Corporation.
00:25 Solar Bank is a company in the renewable energy space.
00:29 We've been in business for more than 10 years now.
00:33 Our focus is solar photovoltaics.
00:36 We build large utility-scale solar farms, community solar farms, behind-the-meter rooftops
00:43 and other renewable energy applications.
00:47 Along the way, we also provide battery energy storage, support the grid with the ISO in
00:55 Ontario for 60 megawatt hours.
00:58 We're also involved in EV charging because we view that renewable energy is a good source
01:05 of fuel to decarbonize the transportation business.
01:10 I think over the last 10 years, we have moved more than $100 million worth of investment,
01:20 have a gigawatt worth of pipeline, have done more than 1,000 project development.
01:27 Among the projects built, we're currently operating about more than 100 of the solar
01:33 power generation states.
01:36 Because of the community solar program in the states, we also have up to about 10,000
01:42 subscribers at this moment now, enable each individual actually to make a difference in
01:49 the fight against the climate change.
01:52 Our operation center, making sure all the power plants are run as designed, and really
02:00 happy to be in this business.
02:03 Looking forward to share more information with you.
02:07 That's amazing.
02:08 What sets you apart in the clean and renewable space?
02:12 I think from that perspective, we are really proud of our history over the last years.
02:20 For me, the number one is people.
02:24 The solar bank people are all very, very committed and experienced in the renewable business.
02:32 I think combined, we have more than 100 years of experience.
02:36 I think that's the number one.
02:39 Number one is financing.
02:41 I think working with the investment community, as I mentioned, we moved more than $100 million
02:47 worth of capital already.
02:49 Our capital market team are very skilled in making sure that all the projects are supported,
02:59 we feel good about our financial conditions.
03:03 If you can check out the public filings, you will see we are in very, very good financial
03:10 situations as a company.
03:13 The third item set us apart is really about the project.
03:19 Not only we have a gigawatt worth of pipeline, we're currently under construction about five
03:26 solar farms.
03:27 We also have ongoing operation maintenance projects to supply renewable energy to the
03:34 grid.
03:35 The people, the finance, and the projects set us apart from most of the peer companies
03:42 in the same space.
03:43 I wanted to congratulate you on your new deal.
03:45 Can you tell us a little bit about what that entails?
03:48 Yes.
03:50 We have been working with a Fortune 100 company for many years.
03:56 They are very, very committed to the environmental, social, and governance aspects of their business.
04:04 They are taking care of the environment from a very diligent way.
04:11 We have done studies for them in terms of how to revitalize the, I would say, contaminate
04:19 the land and other areas of non-productive surfaces.
04:25 This contract with this Fortune 100 company is three separate community solar projects,
04:33 total about 21 megawatts.
04:36 And then they are in upper state New York.
04:39 The total value of the contract is more than $41 million on those projects that will be
04:46 under construction, I would say, probably in October and mechanical completion Q1, Q2,
04:54 2024.
04:55 After it's completed, it will provide renewable energy to the subscribers in the neighborhood
05:03 and further enhance the community solar participation rate in the upper state New York.
05:10 It gets the NASERDA grant from an incentive perspective, also has the support from the
05:18 Fortune 100 company.
05:20 I think at the end of the day, we do have many projects in the pipeline and the construction
05:27 and the operation, but this significant deal gives us confidence about the growth potential
05:36 of Solar Bank.
05:39 It is one of the signs that we are a trusted partner with Tier 1 companies such as this
05:45 Fortune 100 company.
05:50 Economically, for our investment committee, we were able to double our revenue compared
05:56 to last fiscal year.
05:58 We will be able to more than double our revenue again in the next fiscal year.
06:05 So really excited, not only about the economic impact, but also the potential to continue
06:13 to work with Fortune 100 companies, not only as a developer, as a constructural, but also
06:19 as a potential operation maintenance service provider for the next 35 years.
06:26 Each project cycle is about 35 years.
06:29 So really excited about this deal.
06:31 That's very exciting.
06:32 So final question before we close.
06:34 What will be the keys to success in the coming years in the renewable space?
06:39 As you know, Carly, the renewable energy has passed the point of no return in terms of
06:47 energy allocation in the overall composition between fossil fuels and renewable energy.
06:56 There's a lot of support from a cooperation from environmental, social governance perspective.
07:03 There's a lot of expectations from society.
07:05 But at the end of the day, it is the policy that enables industry to grow, to make a contribution
07:12 to slow down climate change or global warming.
07:17 The first one policy, as you know, is the Inflation Reduction Act.
07:21 It puts hundreds of billions of dollars behind the renewable energy so that we can further
07:27 speed up the deployment.
07:30 As you know, Carly, currently in the States, 70 percent of power are from the fossil fuels.
07:37 The Biden administration with the Inflation Reduction Act will be able to support the
07:42 industry to achieve 80 percent renewables by 2030.
07:47 So that's a complete flip in terms of energy composition.
07:51 So in addition to policy support, the financial environment is very important.
07:57 I think the stability in terms of available funding, which we are in a very good position
08:03 to enable the success on top of the societal support and technology maturity, which the
08:12 cost of solar energy has reduced dramatically, 80, 90 percent over the last 10 years.
08:20 So those elements from a policy, from finance, from society support and the technology are
08:28 the focus and the enabler in the renewable industry for success in the coming decades.
08:35 Wonderful, Dr. Liu, CEO of Solar Bank.
08:38 It's been a pleasure having you with us talking about Solar Bank in the renewable energy space.
08:44 Thank you so much for joining us today.
08:46 Thank you, Carly.
08:47 Nice to speak here.
08:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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