OREC presents solar power sales pitch
An Ottawa-based energy development co-operative expects to start setting up a small-scale solar power project in the heart of the village of Alfred, before the summer is gone.
Residents of the area or anywhere else in the Prescott-Russell region who want to sign up as investors for this particular project have until the end of April to do so. But OREC President Dick Bakker affirmed that the project is a go, and the April deadline for a Class A Series 5 share offering does not affect company plans to go ahead with both the Alfred project and three other smaller projects planned this year in the city of Ottawa.
“We would like to have the people of Prescott-Russell involved in OREC and investing in the project,” Bakker said during an April 10 evening presentation, but added that it is not a condition of the project.
Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-Operative (OREC) is a for-profit energy development co-operative, focused on small-scale solar, wind and other alternative energy projects in the Eastern Ontario region. Since its incorporation in 2010, the company has developed 13 such projects throughout the region and the four planned for this year will bring the company’s energy development portfolio to 17, for a combined generating capacity of 1.7 megawatts for sale to the Ontario energy grid under Fit-in Tariff (FIT) contracts with the provincial government.
“We’re basically copying the Danish and German models of community owned energy co-ops,” Bakker said. “We’re a for-profit renewable energy co-op. We’ve done all of these projects with money that came from our members. We have no debts to any bank or credit union. To date, over the past four years, OREC has been able to pay a dividend on its slowly growing portolio.”
OREC’s Alfred solar project is a groundmounted solar farm setup on a four-acre piece of municipal land behind the village fire hall, near Dumoulin Street. The township will get a nine-per cent annual lease fee for use of the site, with the lease fee coming out of the immediate gross revenue from energy sales under the FIT contract.
The Alfred project and the three Ottawa roof-top projects planned for this year are budgeted for about $2 million. OREC has more than a million dollars available through past investment revenue and through its current public share offer.
Bakker noted that raising the remainder should pose no problem and affirmed the company’s prospectus that development of all four planned projects should go ahead over the summer. Besides OREC members’ investment in both the current and past projects to draw on, the company also has a partnership investment arrangement for the Alfred project with the Keewaywin First Nation group. Having First Nations’ involvement with FIT energy proposals helps secure priority consideration for contracts with the province.
Further details on the project and on the company’s profit-share setup for members are available at www.orec.ca.