ICP Solar Technologies Inc., an established innovator in every aspect of solar systems, from panels to monitoring and power management solutions (all based on unique and proprietary technology), announced today the signing of a letter of intent (LOI) with EPOD Solar Inc. (EPDS.OB).
Based in Canada and headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, EPDS implements and runs a variety of solar parks in both North America and Europe. With proven expertise in developing the essential elements of the solar equation, from power generation to the manufacturing of panels, EPDS creates and installs solar panels in its own solar parks as well as offering such parks to third-party clients.
EPDS achieves its success through innovation with the help of several strategic partners. The first is Peterborough Utilities Inc., or PUI, with which EPDS has an option agreement for solar parks exceeding $32M. PUI is owned by the city of Peterborough and based in Ontario, Canada.
Another partner is Northland Power, also based in Canada, which develops and runs a portfolio of power plants, including 459 MW in operation and more than 3,600 MW under development. Northland, with whom EPDS has a binding term sheet, is slated to provide 55% of the build-out costs on installations up to 73 MW, according to the terms of the sheet.
The third and final partner for EPDS is Canada’s largest publicly traded construction company, Aecon Construction (AER), which has market capitalization in excess of $800M and makes a perfect partner for enhancing EPDS’s fundamentals. Under terms of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between EPDS and AER, AER will contribute up to 20% of the equity needs and handle the construction for up to 20 MW of solar parks to be co-developed between the two companies.
Via its Opti Solar Tech Inc. subsidiary, EPDS owns a manufacturing plant located in Hayward, California. This plant produces 30 MW solar panels using a proprietary manufacturing process based on amorphous silicon solar photovoltaics (PV). EPDS is also working with the governments of Germany and Canada to obtain funding in the forms of loans and grants in order to build additional manufacturing plants in Thuringen, Germany and Ontario, Canada.
With 2 decades of experience in the consumer solar market, Montreal, Canada-based ICPR has begun to branch out further into rooftop and OEM sectors, marketing its products under the Sunsei® brand, and is also the global licensee of solar chargers for the well-known Energizer® brand.
CEO of ICPR Sass Peress commented on the potential merger with EPDS by pointing out that it would be a “great opportunity for the shareholders of both companies” while allowing ICPR to further its strategic goals.
Peress cited the vast experience of both companies and the “complementary solar industry experience”, as well as EPDS’s “significant strategic partners” as proof that both companies stand to experience substantial profits as a result of the “significant growth of the solar power industry”.
Peress also cited the “greater leverage in vendor supply arrangements” the merger would entail, expressing how beneficial this would be to ICPR’s strategy of staying committed to the consumer goods market.
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