Algonquin Power Expects $1 Billion in 2023 Capex Despite Review of Renewables Business

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Algonquin Power & Utilities Corporation (NYSE:AQN) (AQN) (Oakville, Ontario) announced Thursday it plans to spend about $1 billion in capital investment in fiscal-year 2023, which includes $700 million for its Regulated Services business and about $300 million for its Renewable Energy business. Despite the spending and an ongoing commitment to its energy-transition strategy, Algonquin Power said it has initiated a strategic review of its Renewable Energy arm. Industrial Info is tracking more than $813 million in renewable energy projects from Algonquin Power that fall within Industrial Info's assessment of having a high or medium probability of moving forward as planned.

"In the first quarter of 2023, we achieved operational milestones in line with our targets," said Arun Banskota, chief executive officer of AQN, in a press release. "In our regulated business, we achieved an increased operating profit reflecting planned execution and constructive rate case outcomes. In our renewables business, we advanced our project pipeline and achieved overall financial performance consistent with our expectations."

AQN said the operating profit for Regulated Services was $255.3 million in the first quarter, up from $231.2 million in first-quarter 2022, which was mostly driven by new rates at its utilities; profit from Renewable Energy was essentially flat year over year.

In a first-quarter earnings conference call, Banskota discussed the strategic review of the company's renewables business: "Both our Renewable Energy Group and our Regulated Services Group have grown into strong businesses, with scale and high-quality assets, and both are positioned to benefit from the energy transition. But we believe our assets are undervalued. We have therefore initiated our strategic review of our renewables business to explore alternatives to maximize shareholder value." He said AQN expects to announce the plans by the company's second-quarter earnings call.

Among AQN's assets is the 112-megawatt (MW) Deerfield II Wind Facility in Huron County, Michigan, which achieved commercial operation in March, according to the press release. AQN said it has agreed to sell all of the wind farm's output to Siculus Incorporated (Altoona, Iowa), a subsidiary of Facebook parent Meta Platforms Incorporated (NASDAQ:META) (Menlo Park, California), pursuant to a renewable energy purchase agreement. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here to see a detailed project report.

In terms of growth projects, Banskota said AQN currently has nearly 750 MW of wind and solar projects in various stages of development, and he expects about 450 MW in service throughout 2023.

Among AQN's active renewable projects is the $240 million Carvers Creek Solar Plant in Gloucester, Virginia, which would utilize photovoltaic (PV) solar panels from NEXTracker (NASDAQ:NXT) (Fremont, California) to generate 150 MW of solar power. Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm DEPCOM Power Incorporated (Scottsdale, Arizona) began construction last year, and completion is expected in October. Subscribers can click here for more information.

Meanwhile, Banskota said he expects the 144-MW, proposed $187 million Clearview Solar Plant in Woodstock, Ohio will kick off at the end of May, with PCL Industrial Construction Company (Denver, Colorado) providing engineering, procurement and construction services. Completion is expected in June 2024. Click here for a detailed project report.

Also planned to kick off later this year is the Hayhurst solar farm project in far West Texas. The 45-MW project is co-owned by Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California). In the conference call, Banskota said all the remaining solar panels had been installed. Subscribers can click here for more information on this project.

Another highlight from the first-quarter earnings information was AQN's announcement that, in April, the company and American Electric Power Company Incorporated (NASDAQ:AEP) (AEP) (Columbus, Ohio) mutually agreed to terminate AQN's acquisition of AEP's Kentucky Power (Ashland, Kentucky) utility and its transmission assets. Last year, AQN said assuming the transaction's closing, it expected capital spend of $3.6 billion in fiscal-year 2023.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI project and plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article and click here for a full list of plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed project reports attributed to AQN and its subsidiaries.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).