Parkland positions to expand EV charging network; secures dedicated Canada Infrastructure Bank EV financing
- Secured up to $210 million financing from Canada Infrastructure Bank to help de-risk and fund future investment in EV charging
- Multi-year opportunity to strengthen existing EV charging network in British Columbia and expand into other provinces with tangible consumer demand, including Ontario and Quebec
CALGARY, AB, Nov. 16, 2023 /CNW/ - Parkland Corporation ("Parkland", "we", the "Company", or "our") (TSX: PKI), today announced that it has secured up to $210 million of financing from Canada Infrastructure Bank ("CIB") to support the continued multi-year growth of its electric vehicle ("EV") charging network.
Parkland's existing EV charging network is primarily located in British Columbia ("BC") which has the highest proportion of EV drivers in North America. Co-located with our retail fuel sites, our EV charging proposition offers customers unrivalled amenities including convenience stores, restaurants, washrooms, and well-lit, fully staffed locations. Parkland has 37 locations already operational and is on track to have 50 charging locations in operation by early 2024.
"Our initial investments in EV charging have been positive," said Darren Smart, SVP Energy Transition and Corporate Development. "Strong customer utilization has validated our strategy to build scale in markets with tangible demand and has confirmed our belief that a high-quality customer experience matters. I want to compliment the CIB, on their financing model which helps incentivize and de-risk investments in EV charging. We will be strategic in deploying this financing to expand our charging network, while also exploring additional third party capital opportunities to fund our own, and potential third-party sites."
"By investing in charging infrastructure, we can support EV adoption and help to significantly reduce transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions. Our financing agreement with Parkland paves the way for up to 2,000 public fast charging ports to come online across Canada," said Ehren Cory, CEO, Canada Infrastructure Bank. "Since the launch of our Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure initiative, we moved quickly to collaborate with the private sector and are nearing our initial investment target of $500 million. As part of the increased sector target for Green Infrastructure, which is now $10 billion, we will continue to meet the strong market demand for this initiative and expand the availability of charging infrastructure."
CIB has provided an 18-year financing facility on attractive financial terms, including principal repayments which are tied to utilization of the installed EV chargers. CIB will fund up to eighty percent of capital deployed to install the chargers over four years, significantly de-risking the expansion of Parkland's EV charging network. Parkland has created a specific project finance entity for this CIB financing, which is non-recourse to Parkland.
The EV charging market is rapidly evolving. As we follow consumer behaviour we see that there may be potential opportunities beyond our network in third party sites. Funding for these sites would come from a combination of CIB and other potential external capital sources.
Parkland is an international fuel distributor and retailer with operations in twenty-five countries. Our purpose is to power what moves people, and every day, we provide over one million customers with the essential fuels, convenience items and quality foods on which they depend.
With approximately 4,000 retail and commercial locations across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean region, we have developed supply, distribution, and trading capabilities to accelerate growth and business performance. In addition to meeting our customers' needs for essential fuels, we provide a range of choices to help them lower their environmental impact. These include carbon and renewables trading, solar power, renewables manufacturing and ultrafast Electric Vehicle charging.
Our proven business model is centred around organic growth, our supply advantage, driven by scale and our integrated refinery and supply infrastructure, acquiring prudently, and integrating successfully. Our strategy is focused on developing our existing business in resilient markets, growing our food, convenience, and renewable energy businesses, and helping customers to decarbonize. Our business is underpinned by our people, and our values; safety, integrity, community, and respect, which are deeply embedded across our organization.
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information and statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). When used in this news release the words "expect", "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to, among other things: Parkland's business objectives, strategies, projects and plans and the execution and impact thereof; the growth and expansion of the EV charging network and expectations for future charging locations, including Parkland's expectation to have 50 charging locations in operation by early 2024; expectations for the financing received from CIB, including the terms, timing and uses of the funds; and Parkland's plan to explore additional third party capital opportunities to fund its own or third-party sites.
These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Parkland does not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as may be required by securities law. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of numerous risks, assumptions and uncertainties including, but not limited to: general economic, market and business conditions; consumer preferences and trends; continued access to financing from CIB on expected terms; availability of third party capital opportunities; competitive action by other companies; the ability of suppliers to meet commitments; actions by governmental authorities and other regulators including but not limited to increases in taxes or restricted access to markets; changes and developments in environmental and other regulations; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Parkland. See also the risks and uncertainties described in "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" included in Parkland's Annual Information Form dated March 21, 2023, and "Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" included in the Q3 2023 MD&A dated November 1, 2023 , each filed on SEDAR+ and available on the Parkland website at www.parkland.ca.The forward-looking statements in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
SOURCE Parkland Corporation
Investor Inquiries: Valerie Roberts, Director, Investor Relations, 403-956-9282, [email protected]; Media Inquiries: Simon Scott, Director, Corporate Communications, 403-956-9272, [email protected]
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