Day 1: Thursday January 29th, 2015
8:15am Registration & morning coffee
9:00am Chairperson’s opening remarks
9:10am Keynote address: The Canadian National Energy Strategy: Identifying inter-provincial opportunities to develop, transport, and transmit energy
9:40am The OPA/IESO merger: What does it mean for the market?
- Ring-fencing operations: How will the OESO separate its’ market regulation function from the procurement function? Is there a risk of conflict of interest?
- What impact will the merger have on existing and future procurements?
- How will the OESO be rated? Will it continue to be considered a quasi-sovereign entity?
- Jason Chee-Aloy, Partner, Power Advisory LLC
- Chris Benedetti, Principal, Sussex Strategy Group
- Mike Bernstein, President and Chief Executive Officer, Capstone Infrastructure Corporation
- Moderator: Krista Hill, Partner, Torys
10:30am Morning refreshments and networking break
11:15am Where are Canadian IPPs seeing opportunities for new power development in the short and long term?
- What does the pipeline of projects expected to need financing over the next year look like?
- Banks, bonds, and lifecos: How do developers view the various markets? Which bank and non-bank lenders are offering the most attractive financing terms?
- Going beyond borders: What projects are Canadian developers pursuing outside Canada? How are these activities being financed?
- John Carson, Chief Executive Officer, Alterra Power Corporation
- Nick Boyd, Director of Business Development and Finance, BluEarth Renewables
- Colin Edwards, Senior Developer – Canada, Pattern Energy
- Jean Letourneau, CPA, CA, Vice President, Finance, Kruger Energy
- Moderator: Linda Bertoldi, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
12:15pm Financing Canada’s power projects: Where are banks and lifecos seeing growth?
- Project terms: A look at the pricing and tenor offered by Canadian banks, international lenders and lifecos
- What regions and sectors are offering the most attractive opportunities for finance? Are we seeing shifts in the emphasis of where lenders are doing deals?
- The emergence of green bonds as a new channel for accessing capital
- William Sutherland, Senior Managing Director – Project Finance, Manulife Financial
- Steve Blazevic, Director, Energy & Infrastructure, CIT
- Carmelo Restifo, Vice President, Power and Utilities, Union Bank
- Yvette Dennis, Senior Director, Global Infrastructure and Project Finance Group, Fitch Ratings
- Moderator: Bruce Fowler, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
1:00pm Lunch
2:30pm As Quebec looks to develop its’ commercial wind potential, are further RFPs to be expected?
- Has the complexity of requirements for Quebec’s 450MW wind energy RFP been a stumbling block for potential bidders?
- What will the likely conclusions of Quebec’s wind energy task force be? Are they expected to be positive for the wind industry?
- Looking at Quebec’s longer-term energy strategy
- Jean-François Samray, President and CEO, Association québécoise de la production d’énergie renouvelable
3:00pm First Nations-led power projects: Drawing from deal experience to debate financing strategies
- First Nations developers and equity providers in power projects: How should lenders approach deals?
- The Mi’gmawei Mawiomi/Innergex wind project: Lessons learned for future project partnerships with First Nations groups
- What financial advantages are available for projects with community and aboriginal groups?
- Jean Trudel, Chief Investment Officer and Senior Vice-President – Communications, Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.
- Matt O'Brien, President, Connor Clark & Lunn
- Derick Wong, Principal, Aboriginal Business Network
- Moderator: Valerie Helbronner, Partner, Torys
3:45pm Afternoon coffee and networking break
4:15pm Accessing the capital markets for power project debt: What bond structures work best?
- As the bank market begins making a comeback, is the bond market still an attractive source of funding?
- What are the key considerations when rating projects in different sectors and stages in the project cycle?
- Refinancing in the bond market: What types of projects are best suited?
- Jonathan Duguay Arbesfeld, Vice-President, Private Placements, Casgrain & Co
- Andrew Lin, Head of Project Finance, DBRS
- Paul Cutler, Treasurer, NextEra Energy
- Cliff Inskip, President, Pole Star Advisory Services
5.00pm Financing the next wave of Canada’s wind development: Is capacity seriously stretched?
- What new wind projects are in the pipeline and what financing is available?
- Have new and innovative structures been developed for financing wind projects?
- Offshore wind: What environmental and regulatory challenges are having the greatest impact on financing? How are project risks diminished?
- Daniel Elkort, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Pattern Energy
- Andrew Eckhardt, Vice President, Senior Business Development Officer, KfW-IPEX Bank
- Moderator: Sarah Powell, Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg
5:45pm Chairperson’s closing remarks followed by drinks reception
Day 2: Friday January 30th 2015
8.30am Morning refreshments and networking
9.00am Chairperson’s opening remarks
9.10am Developing Canada’s solar PV market: Where do the opportunities lie?
- Looking at the current state of Canada’s solar energy industry
- What can be done to boost installed solar PV capacity?
- Evaluating the performance of solar panels and development costs as lenders gain more exposure to solar projects
- John Gorman, President, Canadian Solar Industries Association
9.40am Canada’s secondary market for power assets: What are the key drivers of activity?
- Looking at the levels of activity in the secondary market
- At what stage in the project cycle are buyers interested in acquiring projects?
- Comparing investment strategies: Private equity, infrastructure funds and institutional investors
- Stephan Rupert, Director, Infrastructure Investments, PSP Investments
- Euan McNair, Director, Utility Scale Project Finance, SunEdison
- Ching-yen Chen, Partner, InstarAGF Asset Management
- Jeff Norman, Vice President, Project Development, Algonquin Power & Utilities
- Moderator: Paul Harricks, Partner, Gowlings Lafleur Henderson
10.30am Transmission projects: Identifying transmission and reserve capacity needs
- Cross-border transmission: How many projects are in the pipeline and where will financing come from?
- Prospects for financing greenfield transmission in the bond markets
- Are PPPs an effective procurement mechanism for transmission projects?
- Steven Burtch, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Altalink
- Tim Murphy, Co-Chair, Project Finance, Infrastructure & Energy, McMillan
11.15am Morning refreshments and networking break
11.45am Project Gemini: The largest-ever offshore wind far with a complex multi-tiered project finance structure
- High level analysis of the debt package
- What financing structures were put in place to attract lenders new to offshore wind project financing?
- Mitigating currency risk: How was Northland Power able to devise a long-term hedging strategy to protect the internal rate of return on its’ investment?
- Chris Frost, Partner, Riverside Risk Advisors
- Greg Keaney, Executive Director, Corporate Finance, Northland Power
- Guillermo Freire, Director, Power & Utilities, Structured & Project Finance, Export Development Canada
12.30pm Energy storage projects in Canada: Are they bankable?
- What is the procurement pipeline for storage capacity projects?
- Looking at available types of financing for energy storage: What are the challenges in finding conventional long term project financing?
- NRStor’s first grid-connected storage system: How was the project financed?
- Alexander McIsaac, Manager, Business Development and Projects, NRStor
- Shawn Cronkwright, Director of Renewables Procurement, Ontario Power Authority
1.15pm Chairperson’s closing remarks followed by lunch and close of conference