Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd.

Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call

5/8/2024

spk19: Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Enlight's first quarter 2024 earnings call. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would like, I would now like to hand the conference over to Yosef Lekowitz, Vice President and Corporate Finance. Yosef, please go ahead.
spk10: Thank you, operator.
spk05: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our first quarter 2024 earnings conference call for Enlight Renewable Energy. Before beginning this call, I would like to draw participants' attention to the following. Certain statements made on the call today, including but not limited to statements regarding business strategy and plans, our project portfolio, market opportunity, utility demand and potential growth, discussions with commercial counterparties and financing sources, pricing trends for materials, progress of company projects, including anticipated timing of related approvals, and project completion and anticipated production delays, expected impact from various regulatory developments, completion of development, the potential impact of the current conflict in Israel on our operations and financial condition, and company actions designed to mitigate such impact, expected changes in Canara's leadership, and the company's future financial and operational results and guidance, including revenue and adjusted EBITDA are forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, which reflect management's best judgment based on currently available information. We reference certain project metrics in this earnings call, and additional information about such metrics can be found in our earnings release. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from our expectations. Please refer to our 2023 Annual Report files with the SEC on March 28, 2024, and other filings for more information on the specific factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Although we believe these expectations are reasonable, we undertake no obligation to revise any statements to reflect changes that occur after this call. Additionally, non-IFRS financial measures may be discussed on the call. These non-IFRS measures should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for or in isolation from our results prepared in accordance with IFRS. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures are available in the earnings release and earnings presentation for today's call, which are posted on our investor relations webpage. With me this morning are Gilad Yavit, CEO and co-founder of Enmite, Nirju Das, CFO of Enmite, Jason Ellsworth, CEO and co-founder of Clonera, and Adam Fischel, COO and co-founder of Clinera. Gilad will provide some opening remarks and will then turn the call over to Jason and Adam for a review of our U.S. activity and then to Nir for a review of our first quarter results. Our executive team will then be available to answer your questions.
spk15: Thank you, Yosef, and thank you all for joining us today. Enlight is off to a strong start to the year, and we are pleased to present a robust set of financial results for the first quarter. Revenue grew 27% year over year to $90 million, while adjusted EBITDA grew 28% year over year to $68 million in the quarter. We benefited during the quarter from high production levels across our 1.9 gigawatt operational portfolio, particularly at some of our largest wind farms. Net income was $24 million versus $33 million last year, which benefited from one off financing income we recognized post-IPO last year, which Nien will explain in more detail later on. On the back of these results, we are pleased to reaffirm our full year 2024 guidance. In addition to the strong financial results, we continue to execute on our project portfolio during the quarter. Our projects are proceeding on schedule. including the 579 megawatts and 1.7 gigawatt hour expected to reach COD this year, as well as the 1.1 gigawatts and 2.9 gigawatt hour of new project we expect to start construction this year. And light is on the cusp of a major expansion, which will ultimately result in the tripling of the company generation and storage capacity to 5.1 gigawatts, and 5.7 gigawatt hour by 2026. We are laser focused on the execution and delivery of our plans. Let me describe what we are seeing in the United States, where the industry fundamental backdrop is one of the best we have ever seen. First off, demand for electricity is increasing. For most of the past decade, forecasts for long-term annual U.S. load growth stood at approximately half a percent per year. But this accelerated in 2023 when forecast for long-term demand nearly doubled to 0.9% a year until 2028. This represents an additional 38 gigawatts of peak demand over the next five years. To put that in perspective, that is the equivalent of a 75% of California's peak load today. This rapid acceleration in demand has been driven by the reshoring of manufacturing, EVs, and most importantly, the installation of data centers which consume an immense quantum of power. And there is a strong possibility that this does not capture the true demand picture, which would rise up to 1.5% annual growth until the end of this decade. This also explains why PPA pricing remains high, even as equipment prices have been falling. And light is uniquely positioned for this tight power market environment with a broad set of projects that are deliverable in the short to medium term. These projects include the Trisco, our 364 megawatt and 1.2 gigawatt hour flagship project located in New Mexico, which will see completion of its solar component during the third quarter of this year, while the storage part is on track for COD during the fourth quarter, both as planned. Moreover, Quail Ranch, Roadrunner, and Country Acres, the three major projects we expect to start construction in the United States in 2024, totaling 810 megawatts and 2 gigawatt-hours, have completed all critical development milestones and are on schedule. We will soon initiate major procurement for these projects. Equipment pricing remains beneficial to us with pattern prices around $0.25. All-in battery prices are now $170. Both these elements have fallen by 30% to 35% from start of 2023. All these factors combined contribute to improving unleveraged returns on the project that we are planning to build between now and 2026. This stands at 10.5%, an improvement of 50 bps since last quarter, and with additions of financing, reached mid to high TIN levels on the levered equity return. In Europe, while short-term power prices have been unusually low, long-term power prices remain high, reflecting attractive returns for Enlight operational and development portfolios as we continue to secure important milestones at our near-term projects. We reached financial close for 94 megawatts wind farm project Pupin in Serbia, arranging a 95 million financing package from EBRD and Erste, the same partners who financed our operational blacksmith project, which is adjacent to Pupin. Pupin, which has signed 15-year CFD agreement at 69 euros per megawatt hour, is now under construction and is expected to reach COD as planned in the second half of 2025. In addition, we reach financial close on two of our smaller Hungarian projects, recovering 29 millions of excess equity invested. The normalization of European energy prices and the prevailing higher cost of capital are sparking a greater flow of attractive later stage project acquisition opportunities across the continent. We are currently evaluating several project acquisitions, and we may seek to take advantage of this opportunistic window. In Israel, we continue to engage with the newly deregulated power sector, enhancing our ability to generate and sell electricity to different segments at our own market. Arad Valley 3, a part of the Israel solar and storage cluster, reached COD during the first quarter, as we maintain the rollout of this project cluster through 2024. We also signed PPAs with three additional companies for 50 megawatts of supply, as we further expand our reach into Israel's corporate power market. And finally, we announced the formation of a new subsidiary named Enlight Local, led by one of the top management teams in Israel, which will address the power needs of Israeli municipalities and agricultural customers by building distributed power infrastructure. Finally, turning to our operational portfolio, electricity generation volumes at most of our wind farms were well above expectation, including at Hekama in Spain, Blacksmith in Serbia, and Genesis Wind in Israel. This was partly offset by weaker merchant pricing, especially at Hekama, where lower electricity prices were recorded during the quarter. Despite these merchant market conditions, our hedging strategy provided significant downside protection, as we hedged 65% of Hekama's anticipated production at a high price of €100 for 2024. As we show in the slide accompanying these quarter results, even in an extreme case where merchant prices for the rest of 2024 end up 50% below the internal forecast we made at the start of the year, our corporate adjusted EBITDA would only drop by 2% from the midpoint of our guidance range. I would like to emphasize that we do not expect lower merchant prices to impact our financial outlook for 2024. Moreover, we are also looking to adapt our commercial strategy to current conditions. After the extraordinary returns that we have made at Hikama, where heavy merchant market exposure over the past two years has returned half of the equity we invested in the project, we are now considering options for entering into a long-term PPA. To sum up, this quarter showed strong financial performance, and we continue to be on schedule in meeting our COD and project development goals. Business fundamentals in the U.S. are very supportive for planned expansion there, with rising power demand and low equipment costs translating into higher PPA pricing and increasing project returns. And it is exactly these trends that enable Enlight to achieve its dual goal of delivering higher-than-market growth at higher-than-market returns. I'd now like to hand the call over to Jason.
spk10: Jason? Thank you, Gilad.
spk23: Enlight and CleanEra are rapidly expanding in the U.S., and we are laser-focused on construction and project finance. In total, we plan to be in active construction on more than 1.2 gigawatts of solar, and 3.2 gigawatt hours of battery during 2024. Our 364 megawatt and 1.2 gigawatt hour Atrisco project in New Mexico is on schedule. We expect to reach COD on the solar in the third quarter. The solar project has already reached mechanical completion, and commissioning work is underway. The battery is expected to be complete during the fourth quarter. Equipment is almost all on site, and work is underway to connect the initial circuits. Looking beyond Atrisco, we plan to begin construction on Country Acres, Quell Ranch, and Roadrunner in the second half. These projects together total 810 megawatts of generation and over 2 gigawatt hours of energy storage. The 392 megawatt and 688 megawatt hour Country Acres project in California is expected to begin first. All regulatory and permitting hurdles are clear and construction contracts are nearly complete. Quail Ranch is not far behind. The 128-megawatt and 400-megawatt-hour project in New Mexico is ready to start construction but awaiting PPA regulatory approval. Finally, the 290-megawatt and 940-megawatt-hour Roadrunner project in Arizona is completing its remaining governmental approvals. Before year end, we expect all three of these projects to enter construction. Each is an important part of delivering our 2026 objectives. Our CO bar project in Arizona is comprised of three bus bar PPAs totaling approximately 1.2 gigawatts and 824 megawatt hours and contracted with APS and SRP. The APS Q reform is ongoing and is still on track to support a year-end 2026 COD for the vast majority of the project, with the remainder to follow in early 2027. We continue to engage with APS to advance the interconnection work as quickly as possible. As a reminder, another 3.2 gigawatt hours of battery potential is under development at the site, but not yet contracted. Taking a step back, we continue to see strong support for our project fundamentals. PPA pricing remains sticky in light of the trends Gilad mentioned earlier. Equipment prices have also declined, with costs for both solar panels and batteries falling in the past year. Since the beginning of 2023, both solar module and battery pricing have dropped by approximately 30% to 35%. This has served to offset the increase in financing costs and deliver improved returns. Turning to supply chain, there is currently renewed concern regarding possible trade sanctions aimed at Asian equipment producers. CleanAira uses modules supplied from Southeast Asia and India that are audited by third parties to ensure compliance with today's UFLPA and ABCDB rules. Our suppliers have proven ability to work efficiently and successfully through routine customs investigations and deliver on time. If additional sanctions emerge, CleanAira has supply contingency plans in place to limit potential sanction impact, including use of U.S. assembled bifacial panels and batteries. On a final note, Adam will lead the company's U.S. commentary next quarter. I'm excited to see the organization grow and develop under his exceptional leadership. I'd now like to turn the call over to Nir for a review of our quarterly results. Nir?
spk16: Thank you, Jason. In the first quarter of 24, the company's revenue increased to $90 million, up from $70 million last year, a growth rate of 27% year-over-year. Growth was mainly driven by new operational projects compared to last year, while being offset by a decline in revenue caused by much lower electricity prices in Spain relative to the prices observed in the same quarter last year. Since the first quarter of last year, ten new projects in the US, Hungary and Israel started selling electricity. The most important of this is Genesis RIN, which contributed 9 million to revenue. In addition, Bjorn Bell, which barely sold power at the start of 2023, contributed 7 million in this quarter. Recama generated approximately 20 million in revenues. However, its contribution fell 6% year over year due to much lower Spanish power prices compared to Q1 2023. We sold power in spend at an overall average price of 65 euro per megawatt this quarter versus 85 euro per megawatt in the same period last year. The decline in pricing was offset by very high production volume, which were 20% higher than last year, as well as the result of our hedging strategy, which allowed us to sell 52% of Hekama production at a price of 98 euro per megawatt. In Israel, seven of the 12 solar plus storage cluster units are now in operation, contributing $3 million, while none were selling electricity in the same period last week. Finally, the reclassification of financial assets project in Israel to fixed assets project boosted revenues by $3 million, though at the same time removed the sum from the financial income line. Fourth quarter net income declined by 26% to 24 million from 33 million last year due to unusually high finance income in 23. In the first quarter of last year, we recorded a one-off 12 million benefit caused by the depreciation of the Israeli shekel on the large amount of cash the company had received following completion of our NASDAQ IPO in February 23. In addition, We recorded $2 million non-cash gain in Q1-24, stemming from the mark-to-market of interest rate hedges and a positive revaluation of foreign exchange-denominated liabilities. Cash from operations declined by 36% to $35 million from $55 million last year, influenced by working capital. In the first quarter of 24, the company's adjusted EBITDA grew by 28% to 68 million, compared to 54 million for the same period in 23. On the whole, adjusted EBITDA growth was driven by the same positive factor which affected our revenue growth. Looking to our balance sheet, Enite achieved two financial closings for projects in Central Europe. We raised 95 million loans. for the construction of the Pupin Wind project in Serbia and 42 million financing facility for the construction of the Topolsa Solar project in Hungary. We also recycled 29 million of access capital back to Enite as a result of this transaction. In addition, Enite has 325 million of revolving credit facility at Israeli and international banks as of the balance sheet date, none of which have been drawn. This is $65 million above what we reported in our Q4-23 results. Moving to 24 guidance, given the strong set of results we delivered for the first quarter, we reaffirmed our financial outlook for the year, expecting annual revenue between $335 to $360 million, and with adjusted EBITDA between $235 million and $255 million. In addition, 90% of 24 generation output will be sold at fixed price either through hedges or PPAs. Our guidance reflects annual growth of 36% and 30% at the midpoint compared to 23% respectively, demonstrating our accelerated growth path in 24 and the years ahead.
spk17: I will now turn it over to the operator for questions.
spk19: If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. And if you would like to withdraw that question, again, press star one. And questions will be answered in the order that they are received. Your first question comes from the line of Justin Clare with Roth MKM. Please go ahead.
spk08: Hi, everyone. Thanks for taking our questions.
spk09: So first off,
spk08: Just wanted to start on module supply. Was wondering, since the announcement of the latest ADCVD case that's targeting Southeast Asian countries, can you talk about whether you're seeing any change in the market so far? You mentioned pricing is down to 25 cents a watt. Are you seeing that change? Are you seeing it move higher at this point? And then if tariffs were placed on both cells and modules from Southeast Asia. Can you just talk about your ability to access supply and whether you see any potential for disruption to your product timelines?
spk15: Jason, would you like to take the answer, and I will compliment you if needed?
spk23: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Great question, and certainly on our minds, something we've been spending a good amount of time on as we work through details related to supply chain so specifically we're seeing the market fairly remain fairly stable in terms of supply and pricing there is there there is some shuffling going on and and certainly some of that shuffling is an increased emphasis on investment in the US and acceleration and on those investments by producers who are looking to increase U.S. content as the demand is there and there's likely need for that in the future. In the meantime, we're seeing a mix in terms of our supply chain that is manageable given the outcomes. especially given our emphasis on non-targeted Southeast Asia supply. That said, we also have a solid set of relationships and work related to supply out of the U.S. that would allow us to sidestep eventual issues with some cost impact, but it's a manageable amount of cost impact, a few pennies of cost impact to us and then to the projects. Of course, the benefit there is there's additional opportunity related to domestic content and the upside related to domestic content if that shift occurs. we see this as generally in large part a neutral topic in the near term and potentially in the longer term accelerating the shift to domestic supply that will, in fact, benefit the projects.
spk07: Got it. Okay.
spk15: So maybe just within a... Go ahead. Let me add two short points to that. First, in general, we still see a positive trend in terms of the panels pricing, so we see them still going down and then offsetting some of the other elements. And it's worth to mention the strategic step we did last year with Warid, the Indian supplier, and the MSA that we have. with this supplier that allows us very good responsiveness to the ADCVD future steps that will be taken. So we have a good source that we believe will be available.
spk08: Got it. Okay. Just to follow on that, with the domestic content adder, can you talk about the timing potential in which you think you could secure that adder on the solar side of the business, but then also for storage projects as well. I'm curious what the timeframe might be.
spk15: So we are aligning some of our projects in order to get more from the domestic content, especially in projects where the tax equity path will be ITC. Then we see a strong benefit for that. For example, Rustic Hills. And we believe that for 27, we will be on track to get the adder on that.
spk08: Got it. Okay. And then maybe just one more here. We've seen, obviously, a very strong increase in demand for electricity from data centers. Wondering if you're looking to participate in RFPs that are being done from data centers and whether or not those might incorporate solar and storage.
spk15: Yeah, I'll start, and then Yosef can compliment me. So I think it's a great question. We see a very positive environment for us right now that is being created in the U.S. because of the data center growth that leads to this increase in electricity demand primarily and also opens up a lot of opportunities for us also in the business models. So it's not only participating in PPAs, we are reviewing and exploring other business development and even M&A options that are related to this trend, which we believe that will be long term.
spk05: And may I just add to that, in the West, which is obviously power constrained and with big data center builds over the next decade, That is contracted via the utility, so the utility will sleeve the corporate demand through a PPA direct with the utility. So we won't see it in an RFP with the data center providers directly. We'll see it with increased demand from the utilities. And just given the interconnection positions we hold in the West, we think that puts us in a really position to deliver in the near term for those data center clients, which is of huge value to them.
spk06: Got it. Okay, very helpful. Thank you.
spk10: Thanks, Jessica.
spk19: Your next question comes from the line of Maheep Mandloy from Mizuho. Please go ahead.
spk02: Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking our questions. Just on the model procurement, if I could ask on that, can you talk about the sourcing? You talked about Wari being one of the big ones. Are you looking to source solar cells from them or potentially modules from their potential expansion in the U.S., or do you have any other suppliers lined up for that as well?
spk14: Jason, would you like to take that?
spk23: Yeah, absolutely. I'll take that. Our relationship with Wariye includes solar cells, and Wariye is a producer of solar cells. So, yes, their produced solar cells are a part of our sourcing plan with them and our contractual relationship. We're continuing to look at the advent and introduction of solar cells in the US, and that's a longer-term equation. That is the 2027 timeframe for projects and domestic content that Gilad was referencing. We're targeting that timeframe to be careful. Though we're, of course, open to and working on accelerating as much as possible as it relates to other projects and opportunities that might pull us in a little earlier than that. But 2027 is really the reasonable timeframe that we're looking at to include U.S. cells.
spk02: I appreciate that. And then maybe just switching to the construction schedule, you kind of talked about everything seems on target now or on track. But curious on your thoughts on how should we think about going forward? Do you expect any bottlenecks over here on a run rate basis, either from EPC constraints or transformer switchgear constraints? For the market, we're obviously hearing from some of the suppliers that projects are getting pushed out, but just curious why you're not seeing that right now and what are your expectations for that going forward? Thanks.
spk15: This is a great question. I think that we are very confident right now on the operational track. First on Trisco, that is a major project for us, and we plan the COD of both the solar side and the battery side before the end of 24, and we are at least on track. And I believe that we took a very important operational and procurement decision decisions that will also support construction on time of the new three projects that we are going to build in the U.S. in 2024, including decisions for transformers that we did and other elements that can be bottlenecked. So we feel quite confident right now on our plans.
spk05: And if I may add to Gilad's point, I think all those projects have signed interconnection agreements, signed PPAs, real estates, And for the large part, all their permits. So that gives us a large degree of comfort on the milestones that these projects have achieved that were on plan, if not ahead.
spk25: Awesome. And then maybe just one last one on merchant pricing in Spain.
spk02: The table in the press release was pretty useful to understand the sensitivity. But spot prices are already down 50% versus the 68.5 number you have in there. Just curious how should we treat that table or going forward here. Thanks.
spk13: So what was exactly the question?
spk02: The spot prices in Spain is almost around $30 something right now for megawatt hour. So almost 50% below your assumption of 68.5. Does that imply like... EBITDA could be 2% below the midpoint for the rest of the year? No, no.
spk05: So the current price today may be 30, but if you look at the forwards for the remainder of the year, they're in the 70 range, if not higher. So there's been kind of a short-term decline in power prices, which we've seen in February and mostly in March, which has been driven by strong hydro and a lot of wind and solar resources. That hydro is expected to come off, which is why you see the near-term futures at this 70 range, July, August, September, and so on and so forth. So the 30 is maybe today's price, but it's not the expectation of price in the market for the remainder of the year.
spk15: Yeah, and I would add to that is that the point we are making in the presentation is our resilience to even a short-term downturn in the prices, in the spot prices in Spain. And the point that we just shown is that even in a reduction of 50% in the merchant prices, we don't see any impact on the EBITDA and The opposite, what we see is other, say, positive results in other projects. So we do not see any reason why to reduce our guidelines maybe to the opposite, but we will consider that next quarter. And on the long term, we see also in Spain very good, I would say, forecasts and folds for... the electricity prices, including PPAs. So the fact that we get offers right now for 10 years PPA on a high basis provides us a lot of confidence that we can either remain in the merchant profile where we have benefited a lot in the last two years, as you know, and basically being able to withdraw more than 50% of the equity of the project. So we had a very good upside in the last two years. And what we see currently forward for the next 10 years is good levels of prices and also flexibility to sign long-term PPA at high levels that represent, I would say, higher returns than the original models. So I think that we stand there with a very good situation. In Spain, I think this was the goal of showing that table on the short term.
spk03: Got it. Going to appreciate that color as well. Thank you.
spk19: Your next question comes from the line of Mark Strauss with JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
spk04: Hello. This is Michael Fairbanks on for Mark Strauss. Thanks for taking our questions. For the U.S. development pipeline, how are you feeling about the availability of tax equity, particularly on the PTC side? We've heard some tightness there, so just wondering if you're seeing that, and to what extent can you use transferability to offset that? Thanks.
spk15: So I can begin on yourself if you want. I think the profile of our offtake, rest of the fundamentals, but primarily offtake of our project in the West is very attractive to tax equity providers because we have long-term bus bar PPAs for 20 and in some projects 30 years with a very, I would say, a solid profile. So as produced, we don't have any exposure to a curtailment as opposed to hub-settled PPAs that you can find in other areas. So this leads to, I think, very strong demand that we are getting for tax equity for the project. So we feel less the bottlenecks right now. And I think that this is one of the advantages of the portfolio that we see right now in work and specifically with the project online right now.
spk05: And just to add, there's also the optionality that transferability has provided to do the hybrid structures, which is around the tax equity providers syndicating the credits to corporate clients of theirs which have tax exposure. and then retaining the interest for the purposes of monetizing the depreciation. So there's plenty of demand. It's just a matter of exactly the structure that works best for us.
spk04: Great. Thank you very much. And then just one follow-up. Any update you guys have on the overall ramp-up at the Genesis and Bjorn wind projects since the last call?
spk15: Yeah, yeah. Thanks. It's on plan and even better than plan. So we see improved performance of both plans, and also we are getting to continuous arrangement with the supplier on the path. So we feel very good there.
spk18: Great. Thank you.
spk19: And if you'd like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Your next question comes from the line of David Paz with Wolf Research. Please go ahead.
spk10: Hey, good morning. Hi, good morning, David. Oh, great. Great.
spk24: I'm not sure you can hear me. I wanted to just circle back on the PGM portfolio and you touched on it. But just if you could maybe at a high level talk about your plans in that market. And then, in particular, all the demand that, of course, we're seeing from data centers and so forth. Do you anticipate, as part of your farm down strategy, I think it was 30% or so going forward, you know, just one of those kind of portfolios that we should look at? What kind of interests are you seeing? And are you particularly looking at breaking it down to pieces? You mentioned in one of your earlier comments on M&A, Just maybe overall, just address your PGM strategy.
spk15: Yeah. Thanks for the question, David. So first, to begin with, we continue to advance the PGM portfolio. It's advanced well. We have more than five projects there, but with five projects, we are on fast track. And with network upgrade cost of less than $5 million per project, which I think is... Yeah, it's fantastic for PGM. I think that I understand that on the fast track, Enlight holds 40% of the project right now that are on the fast track on PGM. I think it's amazing. And then to your question, yes, we believe that PGM is a potential for our strategy on the sell-downs. There are some elements in PGM where I think maybe positions these projects as good, I would say, options for doing this kind of equity recycle we mentioned in previous quarter when the project finally, you know, mature, completely mature and get to their optimal value. We believe that the high PPA prices in PGM derived by the data center's demand. And I would say multiple players that are interested in projects there may create a very high upside for us in this market.
spk10: Great. Thank you on that.
spk24: And then just on your unlevered return targets for your 24 to 26 portfolio, obviously that was great to see a 50 base coin improvement. How locked in from here are those returns? Do you anticipate more movement, again, just for those set of projects on your returns? Or have you locked in the pricing and so forth that we should probably kind of think of that in a steady state?
spk05: So things, David, so PPAs are signed for over 90% of that block, right? So the revenue side, obviously, we feel a great degree of confidence. On the cost side, we're naturally going to be going to procurement in a significant way on everything we're going to obviously start building this year. So we're in negotiations, in advanced negotiations on procurement decisions, for example, on the three big projects in the U.S. that we're going to commence construction this year. Naturally, we have the Atrisco project where procurement is obviously all done, and that's locked in. Yeah, so we feel pretty good. I think their CO bar, which is obviously a big project, which we hope to make some procurement decisions by the end of this year or early next.
spk20: Great. All right. Thank you.
spk19: That concludes our question and answer session, and I will now turn the call back over to Yusuf for closing remarks.
spk05: Thank you, Operator. Thanks, everyone, for joining today. We will be at the J.P. Morgan Energy Conference in New York as well as Roth's Sustainability Conference in London, and we look forward to catching you up there. Thank you.
spk19: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you you
spk10: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our first quarter 2024 earnings conference call for Enlight Renewable Energy.
spk05: Before beginning this call, I would like to draw participants' attention to the following. Certain statements made on the call today, including but not limited to statements regarding business strategy and plans, our project portfolio, market opportunity, utility demand and potential growth, discussions with commercial counterparties and financing sources, pricing trends for materials, progress of company projects, including anticipated timing of related approvals, and project completion and anticipated production delays, expected impact from various regulatory developments, completion of development, the potential impact of the current complex in Israel on our operations and financial condition, and company actions designed to mitigate such impact, expected changes in Canara's leadership, and the company's future financial and operational results and guidance, including revenue and adjusted EBITDA are forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, which reflect management's best judgment based on currently available information. We reference certain project metrics in this earnings call, and additional information about such metrics can be found in our earnings release. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from our expectations. Please refer to our 2023 Annual Report files with the SEC on March 28, 2024, and other filings for more information on the specific factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Although we believe these expectations are reasonable, we undertake no obligation to revise any statements to reflect changes that occur after this call. Additionally, non-IFRS financial measures may be discussed on the call. These non-IFRS measures should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for or in isolation from our results prepared in accordance with IFRS. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures are available in the earnings release and earnings presentation for today's call, which are posted on our investor relations webpage. With me this morning are Gilad Yavitz, CEO and co-founder of Enmite, Nir Yu Da, CFO of Enmite, Jason Ellsworth, CEO and co-founder of Clonera, and Adam Fischel, COO, and co-founder of Clonera. Gilad will provide some opening remarks and will then turn the call over to Jason and Adam for a review of our U.S. activity and then to Nir for a review of our first quarter results. Our executive team will then be available to answer your questions.
spk15: Thank you, Yosef, and thank you all for joining us today. Enlight is off to a strong start to the year, and we are pleased to present a robust set of financial results for the first quarter. Revenue grew 27% year over year to $90 million, while adjusted EBITDA grew 28% year over year to $68 million in the quarter. We benefited during the quarter from high production levels across our 1.9 gigawatt operational portfolio, particularly at some of our largest wind farms. Net income was $24 million versus $33 million last year, which benefited from one off financing income we recognized post-IPO last year, which Nien will explain in more detail later on. On the back of these results, we are pleased to reaffirm our full year 2024 guidance. In addition to the strong financial results, we continue to execute on our project portfolio during the quarter. Our projects are proceeding on schedule, including the 579 megawatts and 1.7 gigawatt hour expected to reach CLD this year, as well as the 1.1 gigawatts and 2.9 gigawatt hour of new project we expect to start construction this year. And light is on the cusp of a major expansion, which will ultimately result in the tripling of the company generation and storage capacity to 5.1 gigawatts, and 5.7 gigawatt hour by 2026. We are laser focused on the execution and delivery of our plans. Let me describe what we are seeing in the United States, where the industry fundamental backdrop is one of the best we have ever seen. First off, demand for electricity is increasing. For most of the past decade, forecasts for long-term annual U.S. load growth stood at approximately half a percent per year. But this accelerated in 2023 when forecasts for long-term demand nearly doubled to 0.9% a year until 2028. This represents an additional 38 gigawatts of peak demand over the next five years. To put that in perspective, that is the equivalent of 75% of California's peak load today. This rapid acceleration in demand has been driven by the reshoring of manufacturing, EVs, and most importantly, the installation of data centers which consume an immense quantum of power. And there is a strong possibility that this does not capture the true demand picture, which would rise up to 1.5% annual growth until the end of this decade. This also explains why PPA pricing remains high, even as equipment prices have been falling. Enlight is uniquely positioned for this tight power market environment with a broad set of projects that are deliverable in the short to medium term. These projects include the Trisco, our 364 megawatt and 1.2 gigawatt hour flagship project located in New Mexico, which will see completion of its solar component during the third quarter of this year, while the storage part is on track for COD during the fourth quarter, both as planned. Moreover, Quail Ranch, Roadrunner, and Country Acres, the three major projects we expect to start construction in the United States in 2024, totaling 810 megawatts and 2 gigawatt-hour, have completed all critical development milestones and are on schedule. We will soon initiate major procurement for these projects. Equipment pricing remains beneficial to us, with panel prices around $0.25. All-in battery prices are now $170. Both these elements have fallen by 30% to 35% from start of 2023. All these factors combined contribute to improving unlevered returns on the project that we are planning to build between now and 2026. This stands at 10.5%, an improvement of 50 bps since last quarter, and with additions of financing, reached mid to high TIN levels on the levered equity return. In Europe, while short-term power prices have been unusually low, long-term power prices remain high, reflecting attractive returns for Enlight operational and development portfolios, as we continue to secure important milestones at our near-term projects. We reached financial close for 94 megawatts wind farm project Pupin in Serbia, arranging a 95 million financing package from EBRD and Erste, the same partners who financed our operational blacksmith project, which is adjacent to Pupin. Pupin, which has signed 15-year CFD agreement at 69 euros per megawatt hour, is now under construction and is expected to reach CLD as planned in the second half of 2025. In addition, we reach financial close on two of our smaller Hungarian projects, recovering 29 millions of excess equity invested. The normalization of European energy prices and the prevailing higher cost of capital are sparking a greater flow of attractive later stage project acquisition opportunities across the continent. We are currently evaluating several project acquisitions, and we may seek to take advantage of this opportunistic window. In Israel, we continue to engage with the newly deregulated power sector, enhancing our ability to generate and sell electricity to different segments at our own market. Arad Valley 3, a part of the Israel solar and storage cluster, reached COD during the first quarter, as we maintain the rollout of this project cluster through 2024. We also signed PPAs with three additional companies for 50 megawatts of supply, as we further expand our reach into Israel's corporate power market. And finally, we announced the formation of a new subsidiary named Enlight Local, led by one of the top management teams in Israel, which will address the power needs of Israeli municipalities and agricultural customers by building distributed power infrastructure. Finally, turning to our operational portfolio, electricity generation volumes at most of our wind farms were well above expectation, including at Hekama in Spain, Blacksmith in Serbia, and Genesis Wind in Israel. This was partly offset by weaker merchant pricing, especially at Hekama, where lower electricity prices were recorded during the quarter. Despite these merchant market conditions, our hedging strategy provided significant downside protection, as we hedged 65% of Hekama's anticipated production at a high price of €100 for 2024. As we show in the slide accompanying these quarter results, even in an extreme case where merchant prices for the rest of 2024 end up 50% below the internal forecast we made at the start of the year, our corporate adjusted EBITDA would only drop by 2% from the midpoint of our guidance range. I would like to emphasize that we do not expect lower merchant prices to impact our financial outlook for 2024. Moreover, we are also looking to adapt our commercial strategy to current conditions. After the extraordinary returns that we have made at Hikama, where heavy merchant market exposure over the past two years has returned half of the equity we invested in the project, we are now considering options for entering into a long-term PPA. To sum up, this quarter showed strong financial performance, and we continue to be on schedule in meeting our COD and project development goals. Business fundamentals in the U.S. are very supportive for planned expansion there, with rising power demand and low equipment costs translating into higher PPA pricing and increasing project returns. And it is exactly these trends that enable Enlight to achieve its dual goal of delivering higher-than-market growth at higher-than-market returns.
spk10: I'd now like to hand the call over to Jason. Jason? Thank you, Gilad.
spk23: Enlight and CleanEra are rapidly expanding in the U.S., and we are laser-focused on construction and project finance. In total, we plan to be in active construction on more than 1.2 gigawatts of solar, and 3.2 gigawatt hours of battery during 2024. Our 364 megawatt and 1.2 gigawatt hour Atrisco project in New Mexico is on schedule. We expect to reach COD on the solar in the third quarter. The solar project has already reached mechanical completion, and commissioning work is underway. The battery is expected to be complete during the fourth quarter. Equipment is almost all on site, and work is underway to connect the initial circuits. Looking beyond Atrisco, we plan to begin construction on Country Acres, Quell Ranch, and Roadrunner in the second half. These projects together total 810 megawatts of generation and over 2 gigawatt hours of energy storage. The 392 megawatt and 688 megawatt hour Country Acres project in California is expected to begin first. All regulatory and permitting hurdles are clear and construction contracts are nearly complete. Quail Ranch is not far behind. The 128-megawatt and 400-megawatt-hour project in New Mexico is ready to start construction but awaiting PPA regulatory approval. Finally, the 290-megawatt and 940-megawatt-hour Roadrunner project in Arizona is completing its remaining governmental approvals. Before year end, we expect all three of these projects to enter construction. Each is an important part of delivering our 2026 objectives. Our CO bar project in Arizona is comprised of three bus bar PPAs totaling approximately 1.2 gigawatts and 824 megawatt hours and contracted with APS and SRP. The APS Q reform is ongoing and is still on track to support a year-end 2026 COD for the vast majority of the project, with the remainder to follow in early 2027. We continue to engage with APS to advance the interconnection work as quickly as possible. As a reminder, another 3.2 gigawatt hours of battery potential is under development at the site, but not yet contracted. Taking a step back, we continue to see strong support for our project fundamentals. PPA pricing remains sticky in light of the trends Gilad mentioned earlier. Equipment prices have also declined, with costs for both solar panels and batteries falling in the past year. Since the beginning of 2023, both solar modules and battery pricing have dropped by approximately 30% to 35%. This has served to offset the increase in financing costs and deliver improved returns. Turning to supply chain, there is currently renewed concern regarding possible trade sanctions aimed at Asian equipment producers. CleanAira uses modules supplied from Southeast Asia and India that are audited by third parties to ensure compliance with today's UFLPA and ABCDB rules. Our suppliers have proven ability to work efficiently and successfully through routine customs investigations and deliver on time. If additional sanctions emerge, CleanAira has supply contingency plans in place to limit potential sanction impact, including use of U.S. assembled bifacial panels and batteries. On a final note, Adam will lead the company's U.S. commentary next quarter. I'm excited to see the organization grow and develop under his exceptional leadership. I'd now like to turn the call over to Nir for a review of our quarterly results. Nir?
spk16: Thank you, Jason. In the first quarter of 24, the company's revenue increased to $90 million, up from $70 million last year, a growth rate of 27% year-over-year. Growth was mainly driven by new operational projects compared to last year, while being offset by a decline in revenue caused by much lower electricity prices in Spain relative to the prices observed in the same quarter last year. Since the first quarter of last year, ten new projects in the US, Hungary and Israel started selling electricity. The most important of these is Genesis Wind, which contributed 9 million to revenue. In addition, Bjornberg, which barely sold power at the start of 2023, contributed $7 million in this quarter. Hekama generated approximately $20 million in revenues. However, its contribution fell 6% year over year due to much lower Spanish power prices compared to Q1 2023. We sold power in spend at an overall average price of 65 euros per megawatt this quarter versus 85 euros per megawatt in the same period last year. The decline in pricing was offset by very high production volume, which were 20% higher than last year, as well as the result of our hedging strategy, which allowed us to sell 52% of Hekama production at a price of 98 euros per megawatt. In Israel, seven of the 12 solar plus storage cluster units are now in operation, contributing $3 million, while none were selling electricity in the same period last week. Finally, the reclassification of financial assets projects in Israel to fixed assets projects boosted revenues by $3 million, though at the same time removed the sum from the financial income line. Fourth quarter net income declined by 26% to 24 million from 33 million last year due to unusually high finance income in 23. In the first quarter of last year, we recorded a one-off 12 million benefit caused by the depreciation of the Israeli shekel on the large amount of cash the company had received following completion of our Nasdaq IPO in February 23. In addition, We recorded $2 million non-cash gain in Q1-24, stemming from the mark-to-market of interest rate hedges and a positive revaluation of foreign exchange-denominated liabilities. Cash from operations declined by 36% to $35 million from $55 million last year, influenced by working capital. In the first quarter of 24, the company's adjusted EBITDA grew by 28% to 68 million, compared to 54 million for the same period in 23. On the whole, adjusted EBITDA growth was driven by the same positive factor which affected our revenue growth. Looking to our balance sheet, Enite achieved two financial closings for projects in Central Europe. We raised 95 million loans. for the construction of the Pupin Wind project in Serbia and 42 million financing facility for the construction of the Topolsa Solar project in Hungary. We also recycled 29 million of access capital back to Enite as a result of this transaction. In addition, Enite has 325 million of revolving credit facility at Israeli and international banks as of the balance sheet date, none of which have been drawn. This is $65 million above what we reported in our Q4-23 results. Moving to 24 guidance, given the strong set of results we delivered for the first quarter, we reaffirmed our financial outlook for the year, expected annual revenue between $335 to $360 million, and we've adjusted EBITDA between $235 million and $255 million. In addition, 90% of 24 generation output will be sold at fixed price either through hedges or PPAs. Our guidance reflects annual growth of 36% and 30% at the midpoint compared to 23% respectively, demonstrating our accelerated growth path in 24 and the years ahead.
spk17: I will now turn it over to the operator for questions.
spk19: If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. And if you would like to withdraw that question, again, press star one. And questions will be answered in the order that they are received. Your first question comes from the line of Justin Clare with Roth MKM. Please go ahead.
spk08: Hi, everyone. Thanks for taking our questions.
spk09: So first off,
spk08: Just wanted to start on module supply. Was wondering, since the announcement of the latest ADCVD case that's targeting Southeast Asian countries, can you talk about whether you're seeing any change in the market so far? You mentioned pricing is down to 25 cents a watt. Are you seeing that change? Are you seeing it move higher at this point? And then if tariffs were placed on both cells and modules from Southeast Asia. Can you just talk about your ability to access supply and whether you see any potential for disruption to your product timelines?
spk15: Jason, would you like to take the answer, and I will compliment you if needed?
spk23: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Great question, and certainly on our minds, something we've been spending a good amount of time on as we've worked through details related to supply chain. So specifically we're seeing the market remain fairly stable in terms of supply and pricing. There is some shuffling going on and certainly some of that shuffling is an increased emphasis on investment in the U.S. and acceleration of on those investments by producers who are looking to increase U.S. content as the demand is there and there's likely need for that in the future. In the meantime, we're seeing a mix in terms of our supply chain that is manageable given the outcomes. especially given our emphasis on non-targeted Southeast Asia supply. That said, we also have a solid set of relationships and work related to supply out of the U.S. that would allow us to sidestep eventual issues. with some cost impact, but it's a manageable amount of cost impact, a few pennies of cost impact to us and then to the projects. Of course, the benefit there is there's additional opportunity related to domestic content and the upside related to domestic content if that shift occurs. we see this as generally, in large part, a neutral topic in the near term, and potentially in the longer term, accelerating the shift to domestic supply that will, in fact, benefit the projects.
spk07: Got it. Okay.
spk15: So maybe just within a... Go ahead. Let me add two short points to that. First, in general, we still see a positive trend in terms of the panels pricing, so we see them still going down and then offsetting some of the other elements. And it's worth to mention the strategic step we did last year with Warid, the Indian supplier, and the MSA that we have. with this supplier that allows us very good responsiveness to the ADCVD future steps that will be taken. So we have a good source that we believe will be available.
spk08: Got it. Okay. Just to follow on that, with the domestic content adder, can you talk about the timing potential in which you think you could secure that adder on the solar side of the business, but then also for storage projects as well. I'm curious what the timeframe might be.
spk15: So we are aligning some of our projects in order to get more from the domestic content, especially in projects where the tax equity path will be ITC. Then we see a strong benefit for that. For example, Rustic Hills. And we believe that for 27, we will be on track to get the adder on that.
spk07: Got it.
spk08: Okay. And then maybe just one more here. We've seen, obviously, a very strong increase in demand for electricity from data centers. Wondering if you're looking to participate in RFPs that are being done from data centers and whether or not those might incorporate solar and storage.
spk15: Yeah, I'll start, and then Yosef can compliment me. So I think it's a great question. We see a very positive environment for us right now that is being created in the U.S. because of the data center growth that leads to this increase in electricity demand primarily and also opens up a lot of opportunities for us also in the business model. So it's not only participating in PPAs. We are reviewing and exploring other business development and even M&A options that are related to this trend, which we believe that will be long-term.
spk05: And may I just add to that, in the West, which is obviously power-constrained and with big data center builds over the next decade, That is contracted via the utility, so the utility will sleeve the corporate demand through a PPA direct with the utility. So we won't see it in an RFP with the data center providers directly. We'll see it with increased demand from the utilities. And just given the interconnection positions we hold in the West, we think that puts us in a really position to deliver in the near term for those data center clients, which is of huge value to them.
spk06: Got it. Okay, very helpful. Thank you.
spk10: Thanks, Stephanie.
spk19: Your next question comes from the line of Maheep Mandloy from Mizuho. Please go ahead.
spk02: Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking our questions here. Just on the model procurement, if I could ask on that, can you talk about the sourcing? You talked about Wari being one of the big ones. Are you looking to source solar cells from them or potentially modules from their potential expansion in the U.S., or do you have any other suppliers lined up for that as well?
spk14: Jason, would you like to take that?
spk23: Yeah, absolutely. I'll take that. Our relationship with Wariye includes solar cells, and Wariye is a producer of solar cells. So, yes, their produced solar cells are part of our sourcing plan with them and our contractual relationship. We're continuing to look at the advent and introduction of solar cells in the US, and that's a longer-term equation. That is the 2027 timeframe for projects and domestic content that Gilad was referencing. We're targeting that timeframe to be careful. Though we're, of course, open to and working on accelerating as much as possible as it relates to other projects and opportunities that might pull us in a little earlier than that. But 2027 is really the reasonable timeframe that we're looking at to include U.S. cells.
spk02: I appreciate that. And then maybe just switching to the construction schedule, you kind of talked about everything seems on target now or on track. But curious on your thoughts on how should we think about going forward. Do you expect any bottlenecks over here on a run rate basis, either from EPC constraints or transformer switchgear constraints? For the market, we're obviously hearing from some of the suppliers that projects are getting pushed out. But just curious why you're not seeing that right now and what are your expectations for that going forward? Thanks.
spk15: Thanks, Nayib. This is a great question. I think that we are very confident right now on the operational track. First, on Trisco, that is a major project for us, and we plan the COD of both the solar side and the battery side before the end of 2024, and we are at least on track. And I believe that we took a very important operational and procurement decisions that will also support construction on time of the new three projects that we are going to build in the U.S. in 24, including decision for transformers that we did and other elements that can be bottleneck. So we feel quite confident right now on our plans.
spk05: And if I may add to Gilad's point, I think all those projects have signed interconnection agreements, signed PPAs, real estates, And for the large part, all their permits. So that gives us a large degree of comfort on the milestones that these projects have achieved that were on plan, if not ahead.
spk25: Awesome. And then maybe just one last one on merchant pricing in Spain.
spk02: The table in the press release was pretty useful to understand the sensitivity. But spot prices are already down 50% versus the 68.5 number you have in there. just curious how to how should we treat that table or going forward here thanks so what was exactly the question uh the spot prices in spain is almost around 30 something dollars right now uh for megawatt hour uh so almost 50 below your assumption of 68.5 um does that imply like uh EBITDA could be 2% below the midpoint for the rest of the year? No, no.
spk05: So the current price today may be 30, but if you look at the forwards for the remainder of the year, they're in the 70 range, if not higher. So there's been kind of a short-term decline in power prices, which we've seen in February and mostly in March, which has been driven by strong hydro and a lot of wind and solar resources. That hydro is expected to come off, which is why you see the near-term futures at this 70 range, July, August, September, and so on and so forth. So the 30 is maybe today's price, but it's not the expectation of price in the market for the remainder of the year.
spk15: Yeah, and I would add to that is that the point we are making in the presentation is our resilience to even a short-term downturn in the prices, in the spot prices in Spain, and the point that we just shown is that even in a reduction of 50% in the merchant prices, we don't see any impact on the EBITDA, and The opposite, what we see is other, say, positive results in other projects. So we do not see any reason why to reduce our guidelines maybe to the opposite, but we will consider that next quarter. And on the long term, we see also in Spain very good, I would say, forecasts and folds for... the electricity prices, including PPAs. So the fact that we get offers right now for 10 years PPA on a high basis provides us a lot of confidence that we can either remain in the merchant profile where we benefited a lot in the last two years, as you know, and basically being able to withdraw more than 50% of the equity of the project. So we had a very good upside in the last two years. And what we see currently forward for the next 10 years is good levels of prices and also flexibility to sign long-term PPA at high levels that represent, I would say, higher returns than the original models. So I think that we stand there with very good situation. In Spain, I think this was the goal of showing that table on the shorter.
spk03: Got it, going to appreciate that color as well. Thank you.
spk19: Your next question comes from the line of Mark Strauss with JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
spk04: Hello, this is Michael Fairbanks on for Mark Strauss. Thanks for taking our questions. For the U.S. development pipeline, how are you feeling about the availability of tax equity, particularly on the PTC side? We've heard some tightness there, so just wondering if you're seeing that, and to what extent can you use transferability to offset that? Thanks.
spk15: So I can begin on yourself if you want. I think the profile of our offtake, rest of the fundamentals, but primarily offtake of our project in the West is very attractive to tax equity providers because we have long-term bus bar PPAs for 20 and in some projects 30 years with a very, I would say, a solid profile. So as produced, we don't have any exposure to a curtailment as opposed to habsard PPAs that you can find in other areas. So this leads to, I think, very strong demand that we are getting for tax equity for the project. So we feel less the bottlenecks right now, and I think that this is one of the advantages of the portfolio that we see right now in WECC and specifically with the project online right now.
spk05: And just to add, there's also the optionality that transferability has provided to do the hybrid structures, which is around the tax equity providers syndicating the credits to corporate clients of theirs which have tax exposure, and then retaining the interest for the purposes of monetizing the depreciation. So there's plenty of demand. It's just a matter of exactly the structure that works best for us.
spk04: Great. Thank you very much. And then just one follow-up. Any update you guys have on the overall ramp-up at the Genesis and Bjorn wind projects since the last call?
spk15: Yeah, yeah. Thanks. It's on plan and even better than plan. So we see improved performance of both plans, and also we are getting to continuous arrangement with the supplier on the path. So we feel very good there.
spk18: Great. Thank you.
spk19: And if you'd like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Your next question comes from the line of David Paz with Wolf Research. Please go ahead.
spk10: Hey, good morning. Hi, good morning, David. Oh, great. Great. Just wanted to make sure you could hear me.
spk24: I wanted to just circle back on the PGM portfolio, and you touched on it. But just if you could maybe at a high level talk about your plans in that market. and then in particular all the demand that of course we're seeing from data centers and so forth. Do you anticipate as part of your farm down strategy, I think it was 30% or so on going forward, you know, just one of those kind of portfolios that we should look at, what kind of interests are you seeing and are you particularly looking at breaking it down in pieces or like you mentioned in one of your earlier comments on M&A, Just maybe overall, just address your PGM strategy.
spk15: Yeah. Thanks for the question, David. So first, to begin with, we continue to advance the PGM portfolio. It's advanced well. We have more than five projects there, but with five projects, we are on fast track. And with network upgrade cost of less than $5 million per project, which I think is a Yeah, it's fantastic for PGM. I think that I understand that on the fast track, Enlight holds 40% of the project right now that are on the fast track on PGM. I think it's amazing. And then to your question, yes, we believe that PGM is a potential for our strategy on the sell-downs. There are some elements in PGM where I think maybe positions these projects as good, I would say, options for doing this kind of equity recycle we mentioned in previous quarter when the project finally, you know, mature, completely mature and get to their optimal value. We believe that the high PPA prices in PGM derived by the data center's demand. And I would say multiple players that are interested in project there may create a very high upside for us in this market.
spk10: Great. Thank you on that.
spk24: And then just on your unlevered return target for your 24 to 26 portfolio, obviously that was great to see a 50 base point improvement. How locked in from here are those returns? Do you anticipate more movement, again, just for those set of projects on your returns? Or have you locked in the pricing and so forth that we should probably kind of think of that in a steady state?
spk05: So thanks, David. So PPAs are signed for over 90% of that block, right? So the revenue side, obviously, we feel a great degree of confidence. On the cost side, we're naturally going to be going to procurement in a significant way on everything we're going to obviously start building this year. So we're in negotiations, in advanced negotiations on procurement decisions, for example, on the three big projects in the U.S. that we're going to commence construction this year. Naturally, we have the Atrisco project where procurement is obviously all done and that's locked in. Yeah, so we feel pretty good. I think their CO bar, which is obviously a big project, which we hope to make some procurement decisions by the end of this year or early next.
spk20: Great. All right. Thank you.
spk19: That concludes our question and answer session, and I will now turn the call back over to Yusuf for closing remarks.
spk05: Thank you, Operator. Thanks, everyone, for joining today. We will be at the J.P. Morgan Energy Conference in New York as well as Roth's Sustainability Conference in London, and we look forward to catching you up there. Thank you.
Disclaimer

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