SolarBank Corporation (SUUN-Q) is making a strategic push into the Ontario electric vehicle (EV) sector with the filing of $1.5 million in grant applications to develop three fast charging stations in the province.

Located in Woodstock, Peterborough and Milton, these three pilot projects represent an important step forward in SolarBank's plans to diversify its renewable energy portfolio beyond its primary focus as a community solar power developer.

In partnership with with AI Renewable and an as yet unspecified First Nation community, Toronto-based SolarBank will serve as turnkey developer, asset manager and operations and maintenance provider for the charging stations which carry a total cost of $2.3 million.

SolarBank expects to receive approval for the funding applications – which have been submitted to Natural Resources Canada's Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program – by January 2025. 

Once the financing is in place, the company intends to proceed with development and construction work that would see the charging stations become operational by mid to late 2026.

Should this initial venture into the EV industry prove successful, SolarBank intends to replicate the Ontario model for eventual rollout across Canada as part of the company's overall mission to help build a low-carbon economy.

"We are using these pilot projects to assess their financial feasibility and meet our obligations to our shareholders. Once we have accomplished this, we intend to proceed with the rollout of similar such projects in other provinces that will contribute to lowering carbon emissions," Tracy Zheng, SolarBank chief development officer, said in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

SolarBank launching three new solar projects in New York state 

Since its inception in 2013, SolarBank has established itself as a clean energy project developer and owner committed to the deployment of community solar power projects of seven megawatts or less. 

Its business model consists of building out community solar projects that sell electricity to utilities, commercial, industrial, municipal and residential off-takers in Canada and the U.S.

In the past month alone, the company has announced plans to construct three new community solar power projects in New York state. These include a seven-megawatt (MW) ground-mount solar installation in Middletown, Delaware Country; a 5.4-MW project in Broome County; and a 3.7-MW solar plant in Seneca County.

These three projects are all part of SolarBank's steady progress toward becoming a North American leader in the field of community solar projects, which can be rolled out far more quickly and with fewer development hurdles than large scale solar farms. 

By concentrating on this niche portion of the renewable energy market, SolarBank is able to save on time and investment since these small scale projects are easier to connect to existing power grids and require far less expenditure on transmission and related infrastructure.

"Solar is still the core business for our company and we want to strengthen our position in the community solar sector with these new projects in New York," Zheng said.

"We prefer developing these smaller community solar projects which are generally capped out at five MW AC or seven MW DC, according to regulatory guidelines, because the turnaround time is only two or three years compared to utility scale projects that take five to seven years to complete.

"We also like the idea of being able to serve local communities because we can see the direct benefits that SolarBank can bring to the local residents and businesses that directly benefit from our solar projects." 

In addition, SolarBank is expanding its community solar development program into California, Maryland, Nova Scotia and Alberta. According to Zheng, the revenues generated from these new projects and those in New York will allow the company to fully embrace its strategic expansion into charging stations across Canada.

"We are anxious to expand into the EV sector according to our new, diversified business model and do so in a way that will satisfy our investors' expectations," Zheng explained.

Fiera rooftop solar project now under construction in Alberta

In July, SolarBank announced that it was nearing completion of construction on a 1.4 MW DC rooftop solar project for Fiera Real Estate in Alberta. This marks the beginning of a potential major collaboration between SolarBank and Fiera, which manages a $9.7-billion global commercial real estate portfolio through a range of investment funds. 

The Fiera project is expected to be completed in November and will operate as a "Small Scale Generator" under the province's regulatory framework. SolarBank, in partnership with Zathura Investments, is providing development and engineering, procurement and construction services to Fiera and "expects to complete additional projects for Fiera in the future" according to a company statement.

"The reason we're venturing into Alberta is because they offer an open electricity market that is probably the most flexible such market in Canada. It's low hanging fruit in that respect and we're able to take advantage of that by working with Fiera on this rooftop pilot project so we can see the results and then proceed to carry out similar projects on other buildings," Zheng said.

"Not only do we want to scale up our operations in Alberta but we also want to be able to decarbonize buildings all over Canada. This will be a win-win situation for SolarBank and commercial property owners."