PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

Canada's Arise goes public despite lack of government PV support

Canadian solar integrator Arise Technologies Corp. began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in Toronto on July 22. The listing, under the symbol APV, came almost two weeks after the Ontario-based company completed an initial public offering (IPO) – nearly a year later than originally planned.

	© Arise Technologies Corp.
Home advantage: Arise's CEO McClellan has one of the few grid-connected PV systems in Ontario on his house.

Combined with investment through a fusion with Intercedent Venture Ltd. (IVL), a capital pool company (see PI 10/2002, p. 17), Arise raised approximately $1.5 million CAD ($1.1 million USD), 25 percent above the minimum it had been seeking, but only half of its maximum target. Each unit purchased by investors in the IPO at $0.75 CAD ($0.56 USD) per share entitles the holder to a one-half unit option for buying shares at a price of $1.00 CAD ($0.74 USD) through June 2005.

While some of the company's income is related to solar thermal, the »vast majority of sales is PV,« says Ian MacLellan, Arise's CEO and president, largely from its range of portable off-grid products. In addition to distributing Sharp, Kyocera, Evergreen Solar, Uni-Solar, and Photowatt modules through 100 dealers in Canada, Arise also produces a grid-tied inverter based on technology licensed from Xantrex for the Canadian market.

But its grid-connected business has so far been minimal, concentrated mostly on a demonstration project with the Canadian government to install 45 kW of BIPV product on 10 to 15 new houses in the province of Ontario by March 2004. While considered a possible precursor to a national subsidy program, so far, says MacLellan, »there is not a lot of meat."« A more concrete proposal made by the Ontario government last year for a 100,000 PV roofs program (see article, p. 32 and PI 1/2003, p. 19) – and one of Arise's reasons for doing the IPO – remains an unfulfilled promise. Without significant government programs, says MacLellan, »the grid-connected market in Canada is a long way off.»

MacLellan declined to comment on a three-year contract the company has with the University of Toronto to develop a multi-junction a-Si thin-film deposition process, saying only he expects it to lead eventually to pilot production. He also would not give details on companies Arise is hoping to acquire. According to a company prospectus issued on May 27, Arise »anticipates additional fundraising activity...in the event a major acquisition is identified."« But judging by the company's year-end results for 2002, such a move would not be easy – Arise's deficits as of Dec. 31 were nearly $3.4 million CAD ($2.5 million USD), more than twice the amount raised through the IPO and its amalgamation with IVL.

Arise stock, which was traded at $0.70CAD ($0.52 USD) per share on its first day, closed at $0.69 CAD ($0.51 USD) on July 25.