Ameresco, Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Amoresco, Inc. Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session, and instructions will follow at that time. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mrs. Leila Dillon, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications. Mrs. Dillon, you may begin.

Thank you, Catherine, and good afternoon, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for today's call. Joining me here are George Sakalaris, MRSCO's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Doran Hull, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Mark Chiplock, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Before I turn the call over to George, I would like to make a brief statement regarding forward-looking remarks. Today's earnings materials contain forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our expectations. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Please refer to today's earnings materials, the Safe Harbor language on slide 2, and our SEC filings for a discussion on the major risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those in our forward-looking statements. In addition, we use several non-GAAP measures when presenting our financial results. We have included the reconciliations to these measures in our supplemental financial information. I will now turn the call over to George. George?

Thank you, Lila, and good afternoon, everyone. We had another solid quarter, and I'm particularly pleased that our positive momentum continued. with a strong growth in project backlog and assets in development, supporting both our 2023 guidance and our long-term financial targets. Second quarter revenue was well above our guidance and adjusted EBITDA was at the higher end of our range. Importantly, we ended the quorum with a record total project backlog of $3.2 billion, which was up 9% sequentially. During the quorum, we added $493 million of new project awards, bringing the total ads for the first half of the year to almost $1 billion. This growth is even more impressive as we now have surpassed the total backlog reached when we signed the almost billion-dollar Southern California Arizona battery contract at the end of 2021. We also added 113 megawatts of assets in development in the second quarter, which is the largest amount added in a single quarter in our company's history. This represents an impressive 26% sequential growth in assets in development, which we expect will provide substantial EBITDA contributions for many years once brought into operation. Together, our project and asset wins continue to add to our multi-year visibility of profitable revenues while supporting our confidence in Amoresco's long-term growth. Large battery energy storage contract wins represented a major component of this quarter's growth in both our project backlog and assets in development. In our supplemental slides, you will see that battery assets now comprise 41% of our assets in development compared to 25% of our existing operating assets. Large battery storage systems are a critical component in the replacement of fossil fuel-generated electricity, playing a key role in the storage of renewable energy during times of peak production. Batteries, most importantly, though, make the electric grid far more resilient and flexible, quickly providing power when needed due to higher demand, weather-related events, and a number of other unplanned averages. These factors are driving tremendous growth in battery storage, supported by the mass commercialization of battery technologies, which help to drive down costs. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act has been a significant catalyst for the rapid adoption of this technology. Before the passage of the IRA, Federal tax credits were only available for battery storage when it was paired with a renewable generation technology such as solar or wind. Now, under the IRA and similar incentives in Canada, standalone battery storage systems will be eligible for a 30% or greater investment tax credit, significantly enhancing the value proposition of these systems for our customers. thus driving greater adoption. While the ITC is helpful here in North America, we are also proposing and winning standalone battery projects in Europe, where the need is just as great. Given our deep technical knowledge, engineering expertise, and supplier relationships, Maresco has become a recognized leader in the implementation of battery systems. From the transformational Southern California Arizona projects to the recently announced United Power, Middle River Power, and Atura Power joint venture wins, Maresco's expertise and financially flexible business model allows us to drive both battery project and asset opportunities for many years to come. Another very positive long-term development for Maresco which occurred during the quarter was the EPA's ruling concerning the renewable fuel standard targets for 2023 through 2025. In its final ruling, the EPA significantly increased the volume obligation for RNG. This ruling had an immediate impact on the price of the D3 rings, which we generate from our RNG operations, and prices quickly moved from the low $2 range to above $3. As importantly, the EPA also changed how they calculate the RNG industry average rate of growth, which could support volume calculations even beyond the three-year period of this ruling. We were very pleased with the ruling, which increases our long-term visibility into this important line of business. Additionally, we are anticipating the forthcoming guidance from the EPA on earrings, which could also provide a tailwind to our existing biogas to electricity projects. Before turning the call over to Dora, I want to highlight the publication of our third annual ESG report entitled, Doing Well by Doing Good, Transformation and Purpose. We are very proud of the fact that our operations have had a significant positive impact on the global environment as our renewable energy assets and customer projects combined have delivered a cumulative carbon emissions reduction of over 95 million metric tons since public 2010. Our ongoing asset and project growth will continue to drive this important number even higher. Looking ahead, we have also set a target of achieving net zero from our internal operations for both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040. In support of this target, we have pledged to establish emission reduction targets through the science-based targets initiative by 2025. I will now turn the call over to Doran to comment on our financial performance and outlook. Doran?