Algonquin Power Faces Interest Rate, Economic Headwinds

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Algonquin Power & Utilities Corporation (NYSE:AQN) (AQN) (Oakville, Ontario) faced an adverse fiscal third quarter, as its results were impacted negatively by increasing interest rates and the timing of tax incentives related to certain renewable-energy projects, executives with the energy generation, transmission and distribution utility said Friday. The company, which serves both the U.S. and Canada, is reviewing its plans for 2023 in light of a changing business environment, its executives said.

Algonquin reported a net loss of $195.2 million for the just-ended quarter, compared with a loss of $27.9 million for the same period in 2021.

"Our underlying businesses remain strong; however, we are not immune to the macroeconomic environment," said Chief Executive Officer Arun Banskota in a press release.

During the company's earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Darren Myers said, "Looking to 2023, we expect pressure from increasing interest rates and broader macro-economic conditions to impact our earnings."

Myers continued, "We will continue to drive growth in our regulated operating profit, albeit with some regulatory lag, while our renewables business is expected to be relatively flat, as new program growth is tempered by lumpiness in our development pipeline. In light of the changing environment we are reviewing our plans for 2023 and beyond."

One potential sign of such "lumpiness" was in the New Market Solar Plant project in Hillsboro, Ohio, which has been impacted by solar module delivery delays due to U.S. import restrictions, which is an industry-wide issue.

Banskota said the New Market project "already has 24 of 100 megawatts (MW) in service, with construction on the remaining 76 MW substantially complete, except for module installations."

Module deliveries for the remaining 76 MW are expected to restart later in the fourth quarter or in first-quarter 2023, Banskota said. The two-phase New Market project includes the $60 million Phase I, which is designed to generate 35 MW from 98,000 photovoltaic (PV) modules, and the $45 million Phase II, which would add 65 MW worth of PV modules. Subscribers can read detailed project reports on New Market Phase I and Phase II.

On the other hand, Banskota said deliveries of solar panels have been confirmed for the Hayhurst solar farm project in far West Texas. Located some 73 miles northeast of Van Horn, Texas, the 45-MW project is co-owned by Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California). Subscribers can click here for more information on this project.

In transaction-related news, the pending acquisition of Kentucky Power Company and AEP Kentucky Transmission Company remains on track for completion in January 2023, Banskota said. Liberty Utilities (Ontario, Canada), a unit of Algonquin, is set to acquire the utility from American Electric Power Company Incorporated (NASDAQ:AEP) (AEP) (Columbus, Ohio). The terms of the agreement include a reduction in the purchase price by $200 million, from $2.8 billion to $2.6 billion.

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

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports on active projects from Algonquin Power.

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