Canadian Premium Sand Inc. provided an operational update for its pattern solar glass manufacturing facility in Selkirk, Manitoba, (the “Selkirk Project”) and announced plans for a pattern solar glass manufacturing facility in the United States.
Operational update
To advance the $272 million indications of support previously announced on Sept. 18, 2024, for the Selkirk Project, CPS has submitted the detailed application for $100 million in non-dilutive financial support and is now entering the due diligence phase. CPS is working on formalizing elements of the $72 million financial support from the province of Manitoba and has held discussions with Manitoba based indigenous groups related to their participation in the Selkirk Project of $100 million utilizing the federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program.
Plans for a US facility, strategic glass manufacturing partner
The implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. has resulted in strong growth in solar installations and on-shoring efforts within the solar supply-chain. IRA policies also provide an incentive to end users of solar panels to maximize domestic content in solar panel installations, driving solar energy suppliers to locate and expand their manufacturing facilities in the U.S.
CPS customers in the U.S. have expressed a desire for domestic solar glass supply, in addition to CPS’s low-carbon supply from the Selkirk Project. To address this, CPS evaluated sites with existing and under-utilized buildings, utility supply, logistics infrastructure and environmental permits to support a pattern solar glass manufacturing operation in the U.S. With this evaluation complete, the company has selected a site that meets these criteria providing the opportunity for a lower capital cost facility to supplement the Selkirk Project.
The company is now preparing plans to re-purpose a former glass manufacturing facility in the U.S. to produce 4 gigawatts per year of solar glass and is advancing discussions with a potential strategic glass manufacturing partner to jointly develop this site. This strategic partner would bring glass manufacturing expertise, purchasing power for equipment, and raw materials and in-house engineering capability. Re-purposing an existing manufacturing facility with a strategic partner will allow CPS to de-risk both the development of the project and operation of the facility.
CPS has established a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, CPS Glass USA Corp., and has applied for the U.S. Department of Energy’s investment tax credit. The allocation decision for this application is expected in the first quarter of 2025.
“Establishing 10 GW supply of both low-carbon and U.S. manufactured ultra-clear pattern solar glass aligns CPS with the supply chain goals of our North American customers,” says Glenn Leroux, president and CEO, CPS. “Alignment with a strategic glass manufacturing partner supports the execution of our North American strategy and vision.”
