Elemental Energy closes financing for 17 MW Brooks solar farm in Alberta

Elemental Energy Inc.  closed construction and term debt financing for the 17 MW Brooks Solar project located in Newell County, Alberta. National Bank of Canada is the sole lender on the transaction. 

Brooks Solar is currently under construction and when completed in late 2017 will be the first utility scale solar project in Western Canada. The project is being constructed over the course of approximately seven months and employs significant local labour from the town of Brooks and the wider County of Newell area. In addition to the debt financing provided by National Bank of Canada, Elemental Energy is investing the equity to construct, own, and operate the project.

Jamie Houssian, Principal of Elemental Energy, said:

"The execution of Brooks Solar adds to our growing portfolio of projects across North America and represents an important renewable energy milestone for Alberta. Solar energy will ramp up considerably in Alberta in the coming years and this project will help start that momentum".

Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) is a contributing partner on the project. ERA's mandate is to identify and accelerate solutions that secure Alberta's success in a lower carbon economy. The Brooks Solar project was selected through a competitive request for proposals process and will demonstrate the advantages and performance of large-scale solar power in Alberta. 

After acquiring the project, Elemental engaged many stakeholders to successfully move the project forward. This included the completion of land agreements, construction contracts, permits from county and provincial agencies, facilitating the interconnection process with Fortis, AltaLink, and AESO, and the completion of a power purchase agreement with a corporate offtaker.