1.1 Production results of Photon Energy's power plants in the reporting period
The Company reports 37.5 GWh of electricity produced YTD compared to 24.1 GWh one year ago (+56.1%) propelled by the addition of a new power plant in Tolna, Hungary (1.4 MWp added in December 2021) and of our two utility-scale PV power plants in Leeton, Australia (14.6 MWp connected to the grid in August 2021). This represents an avoidance of 15,818 tonnes of CO2 emissions year-to-date.
In April the proprietary portfolio underperformed the audits by - 9.6% due to bad weather conditions.
For more information, please refer to chapter 2. Proprietary PV power plants.
1.2 Photon Energy switches 43.5 MWp of its Hungar- ian PV portfolio to merchant electricity sales
From 1 April 2022 the Group has temporarily switched all Hungar- ian PV power plants in its proprietary portfolio receiving support on the basis of KÁT-licenses and METÁR-KÁT-licenses to selling the produced electricity on the Hungarian day-ahead-market to benefit from the currently much higher electricity prices effective. Government Decree No 787/2021 (XII.27.), published in the Hungarian Official Gazette on 27 December 2021, which came into effect on 1 January 2022, allows PV power plants to temporarily exit the support schemes and to retuto the respective support scheme at any time after a 12-month-period.
The Group also permanently opted out of six of ten METÁR licenses for its PV power plants in Puspokladány and will be selling the produced electricity on the Hungarian day-ahead-market to benefit from the currently much higher electricity prices.
Photon Energy's portfolio of KÁT- and METÁR-KÁT-licensed PV power plants consists of 51 units with a total installed capacity of 35 MWp. The six METÁR-licensed PV power plants which have permanently exited the support scheme have a combined installed capacity of 8.5 MWp and the four METÁR-licensed PV power plants remaining in the support scheme have a total installed capacity of 5.6 MWp.
The Management Board of the Group is convinced that based on the current electricity market outlook for the following 24-36 months this mostly reversible exit from the Hungarian support scheme strongly improves the Group's profitability and maximizes the retuon investment on its Hungarian portfolio.
For detailed achieved prices, please refer to chapter 2. Proprietary PV power plants.
1.3 Photon Energy received Crown Sponsorship for its Raygen project in Yadnarie, South Australia
The Raygen project in Yadnarie with a planned generation capacity of 300 MWp and a target storage energy capacity of 3.6 GWh received Crown Sponsorship from the South Australian Government for development approval. Crown Sponsorship is a development process undertaken directly with, in this case, the Department of Energy and Mining, as a development of public infrastructure under section 49(2)(c) of the Development Act 1993 for the approval of the project with the South Australian Government. The proposed development complies with the requirements of the Technical Regulator in relation to the security and stability of the State's power
system. In parallel, Photon Energy has applied for grid connection for the project to the Electranet transmission network and has engaged a grid connection consultant to manage the process and conduct Grid Performance Studies which will be submitted for ap- proval.
Earlier this year, Photon Energy conducted community consultation sessions with very positive response from both the community and the local council. The local council is very supportive of the project and has expressed interest in working with Photon Energy on accommodation and local supply chain in any areas that will be mutually beneficial to both the local community and the project.
1.3 Photon Energy Share Receives 'Buy' Recommen- dation from AlsterResearch Analysts
The Company's stock has been given a 'buy' recommendation by AlsterResearch, a Hamburg-based research house specialising in small and mid-caps. The research report views the Company as an early mover in the solar market with a clear focus, well-positioned to benefit from current trends in the energy sector. The analysts have high expectations for Photon Energy Group's growth outlook and begin their coverage with a recommendation to buy, setting a target price of EUR 4.10 (approx. PLN 19.0, CZK 100.0) for the Company's shares.
AlsterResearch views solar as a crucial building block in the decarbonisation of economies and thus expects it to be the fastest growing renewable energy source. Photon Energy Group fits well into this trend, combining strong ESG credentials with transparent reporting and open capital market communications.
The Company's decision to supply clean energy directly to the market on a merchant basis going forward and its ability to partially switch some of the plants in its IPP portfolio from fixed feed-in tariffs to higher market prices could result in an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for 2021 - 2024 of 37% for revenues and 72% for EBITDA.
According to AlsterResearch, the above factors make Photo Energy Group's stock highly investable despite its relatively small size.
1.5 Photon Energy Group Expands its IPP Portfolio to 92 MWp
After the reporting period, the Group completed and grid-connected its second photovoltaic power plant near the municipality of Tolna, Hungary. The plant has a capacity of 1.4 MWp.
This latest addition expands the Company's portfolio of proprietary power plants in Hungary to a total of 63, with a combined capacity of 51.8 MWp. Globally, the Company now owns and operates 88 power plants with a combined capacity of 91.9 MWp, including over 60 MWp operating on a merchant basis, selling clean electricity at market prices, without governmental subsidies.
The new power plant extends over 2.8 hectares and uses bi-facial PV modules mounted on single-axis trackers. Connected to the grid of E.ON Dél-dunántúli Áramhálózati Zrt., the installation is expected to generate around 2.1 GWh of clean electricity per year. This corresponds to expected revenues of EUR 440,000 based on