Pinstripes With Panels: How Wall Street Is Getting in on Local Solar

A Toronto-based multinational solar development corporation called SolarBank is seeking a letter of support from MODL to develop a community solar garden with the support of Nova Scotia’s new community solar program.

The company is registered in the province as 4650576 Nova Scotia Limited and traded on the Canadian branch of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE Canada) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) on Wall Street in New York City.

They are seeking to develop the project in conjunction with Sydney-based consulting firm Trimac Engineering and financed by AI Renewables, a renewables-oriented private wealth fund based in Toronto that takes investments from high net-worth individuals and companies.

Company representatives, Mila Simon, & Ina Lina, attended an MODL Finance Committee meeting on Dec. 3, 2024. They were there to deliver a presentation on a proposed community solar garden development in Crouses Settlement in District 1.

The corporation also delivered a community consultation session the previous evening, which was attended by Mayor McLean-Wile, who said that there were over 25 local residents in attendance.

The project is being seen by local politicians and environmental groups as having potential to assist in transitioning Lunenburg County towards renewable energy production if the company meets their criteria for good community relations.

Mayor McLean-Wile told the Barnacle that, “MODL is happy for investment in our community so long as the appropriate community consultations are done.

“Council will be considering the proponent’s request for a letter of support at a meeting in the new year. As part of preparing the report for council, staff would be requesting further information from the proponent on local and First Nations inclusion in the governance of the project.”

Badia Nehme, Energy Coordinator with the Ecology Action Centre echoed the importance of robust local consultation, 

“A huge aspect of the selection criteria is to demonstrate high community benefit, community consultation, effective land use planning to ensure sustainable development, and projects that support equity deserving communities.”

The Barnacle asked Ina Lila, Director of Business Development for SolarBank, about the potential for community-ownership of the proposed project.

She responded stating, “That is not something that has been discussed at this point, so I am not sure how the community solar program contract is going to be set up, or if there is a chance to do that in the future.”

We also asked if the company has approached Acadia First Nation for a potential benefit-sharing agreement. 

Lila said, “We have tried reaching out to Acadia First Nation to offer that … Acadia hasn’t had interest in doing that.”

We reached out to Acadia First Nation to confirm this, but they did not get back to us by the time of publication. Wild Cat First Nation, the closest Acadia First Nation reservation to the proposed solar garden, got back to us and said they “have not heard from anyone regarding this project”.

The entrance of a multinational private wealth fund into the development of community solar gardens raises questions about the long-term direction of green energy transition. 

The Barnacle has already covered how the growing prominence of finance in food and housing (i.e. financialization) has increased prices beyond what is affordable for most working people.

Readers may wonder why such a program is not being financed by local governments or community-led initiatives, avoiding the pitfalls of financialization in other sectors?

Nehme of the Ecology Action Centre asserted that, “there needs to be an invigoration of community mobilization to better access these programs for the truest form of community ownership, which EAC is hoping to invigorate.”

Community Solar Program Prompts Investor Interest

Nova Scotia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Renewables announced the new community solar program in March 2024. The program allows “non-profits, co-operatives, First Nations communities, municipalities, businesses, universities and colleges” to develop community solar garden sites. These sites then feed power into the Nova Scotia Power-operated grid, and local “subscribers” to the solar garden get a credit for their power bill issued by the utility.

In April, 2024 SolarBank first announced that it would be entering operation in Nova Scotia. It stated that it would be working with Sydney-based TriMac Engineering to develop solar garden projects in Cape Breton, Halifax, and the Annapolis Valley. The projects are to be financed and fully-owned by AI Renewable Subco 2023 Ltd. 

So far the company has secured a project in Enon, Cape Breton. Nova Scotia’s Community Solar Program requires interested companies to acquire a letter of support from the local municipality to ensure that projects serve a public interest. Cape Breton Regional Municipality voted unanimously to support the project. The project has since made a partnership with the community development corporation New Dawn Enterprises to supply energy to its housing units.

SolarBank made a presentation to the HRM Council in June 2024 seeking a letter of approval for their proposed Petpeswick Solar Project just south of Musquodoboit Harbour. The Council passed a motion to issue a letter of support for the project in July 2024.

The company also began community consultation in the Municipality of Barrington in November 2024 about their plan to develop three community solar gardens in Forbes Point, Upper Woods Harbour, and Shag Harbour. The company is seeking a letter of support from the Municipality.

One proposed community solar project near Glace Bay, Cape Breton was recently cancelled due to local community opposition who complained that the project would be placed too close to a residential area and involve clearcutting of a forested area, which they suggested would negatively impact their property values. The company is still pursuing another proposed project near Eskasoni.

SolarBank’s Company Origins

SolarBank was founded by Dr. Richard Lu, who previously worked for Canadian energy giants like Enbridge, Husky, and Toronto Hydro and the development company Dillon Consulting.

Their first project was more than 10 years ago developing infrastructure for renewable energy production “behind-the-meter” directly to commercial and industrial facilities in Ontario. They developed facilities in June 2023 for the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and rooftop infrastructure for companies like Home Depot, Ikea, and Canadian Tire.

SolarBank was awarded three projects by Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) to develop lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage facilities in partnership with a Hydro-Quebec subsidiary EVLO Energy Storage Inc. 

Such batteries tend to have lower storage capacity but are safer, cheaper, and more sustainable and ethically-sourced than nickel and cobalt-based batteries for electric vehicles and bulk energy storage. The development is focused on producing batteries to store energy produced at solar facilities. The projects were approved by a number of municipalities and financed through a combination of “flow-through”, two First Nations, and an unnamed third-party development company in Ontario.

Flow-Through Shares are a common share where the investor gets to claim the investment as tax deduction. The government is effectively paying these investors to profit from such investments.

One of these projects, in Gravenhurst, Ontario, received backlash from the local community concerned with the environmental impacts and potential fire risks of the project. SolarBank pulled out of this project in November 2023 because of public opposition to the development.

The company secured investment in June 2023 from limited partner (LP) investors through the Solar Flow Through Funds venture to expand battery energy storage production in other locations.

In September 2024, SolarBank announced that it is seeking a grant through the Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) program for three electric vehicle charging projects in Woodstock, Peterborough, and Milton, Ontario to be financed and owned by AI Renewable 2023 LP in partnership with an unspecified First Nation.

The company expanded operations to Alberta in September 2023, when it announced that it would be developing a site in Sturgeon County selling energy directly into the power grid, financed in-part through the province’s industrial carbon pricing program. The company then partnered with Fiera Real Estate and Zathura Investments to develop rooftop solar capacity for their real estate developments.

SolarBank has made a lot of its wealth by taking advantage of development opportunities in the U.S. created through renewable energy production incentives in the Biden Government’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

They have developed a large number of projects throughout New York State, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina supported by financial incentives from the State.

The company has notably developed solar infrastructure to power a water treatment plant for Honeywell International. Honeywell is a multinational corporation that has recently received public attention because they are alleged to produce parts for missiles that have been used by Israel in its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Connections to Wall Street and Silicon Valley

SolarBank began receiving direct, “over-the-counter” investments, in May 2023 meaning that it could sell high-value shares in the company to accredited investors outside the supervision of a stock exchange. It ascended to the ranks of the 25 largest companies traded on the CSE—called the CSE 25—in June 2023.

It was approved to sell shares through Cboe Canada in early 2024, another stock exchange that is based in Toronto but owned by a global financial corporation in Chicago. This prompted the company to move all its stock trading from CSE to the new exchange to access a larger, global market of investors.

The company began trading on Wall Street when it qualified with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market exchange under the name “SUUN” in April, 2024.

SolarBank stated in November that they would be entering the data center market putting them in competition with Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta Platforms (Facebook), and Apple who have all invested in data-centre expansion to fuel the Silicon Valley vision for the take off of Artificial Intelligence technology.

The Barnacle asked Lila if SolarBank or AI Renewables are involved in the development of Artificial Intelligence technology. She said no, stating “that’s a good question. Can I get back to you on that? I’m not sure.”

We reached out to AI Renewables to clarify this point and have not heard back from the private equity firm by the time of publication.

Christy Kelly-Bisson, PhD, is a political scientist and garlic farmer living in rural Lunenburg County. You can follow them on Bluesky at @garlicbreath644.bsky.social

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