CHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / July 15, 2019 / Blue Sphere Corporation (OTC PINK: BLSP) (the “Company” or “Blue Sphere”), a clean-tech independent power producer that develops, owns and manages waste-to-energy facilities globally, provided an update on its Financial Closing and start of construction on its 10MWh flagship project, the Sterksel Project, Netherlands.
“Financial Closing” Completed
On May 14, 2019 Blue Sphere announced through its subsidiary Blue Sphere Brabant B.V., (“Blue Sphere Brabant”) the developer and owner of the Sterksel Project, the financial closing of its waste-to-energy project in Sterksel, Netherlands. The Sterksel Project was designed to generate upgraded gas to the grid, with an hourly capacity of approx. 3,500 standard cubic meters/h equal to more than 10 MW of electrical power. Detailed engineering is being performed by the EPC contractor, and construction has been started, As previously reported, the financing for this project was provided by: BNG Bank N.V., ETFF, N.V., Nationaal Groenfonds and Helios Energy Investments 3, LP. Eversheds Sutherland provided the legal advice to Blue Sphere in relation to completing this transaction. The total expected project capital expenditure is approximately €29,631,439 or USD $33,542,922.
The Sterksel Project Overview
Blue Sphere Brabant has contracted with three separate providers of feedstock that will provide manure and green waste to fuel the digesters over a period of 12 years. As previously stated on September 19, 2017, Blue Sphere filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing that the Company has entered into a material definitive agreement for the Purchase and Supply of biomethane with GasTerra B.V., a leading Dutch gas wholesaler based in the Netherlands (the “September 2017 Form 8-K”). Blue Sphere Brabant and GasTerra have agreed to sell & purchase, biogas that has been processed into biomethane from the Sterksel Project for a period of twelve (12) years, with a possible extended period upon mutual consent once the term of the agreement has come to an end. Under the Gas Off-Take Agreement, Blue Sphere Brabant will supply a maximum of 3,500 cubic meters of biomethane per hour. Blue Sphere Brabant has also entered into an agreement with PitPoint Clean Fuels and with Gas Terra B.V to sell them the Green Certificates to be generated by the Sterksel Project PitPoint is an international provider of clean fuels which aims to prevent harmful emissions. PitPoint designs, builds, finances, maintains, operates and services public and private fueling stations for LNG, CNG, biomethane, hydrogen, as well as electric charging points, for companies and governments. With more than 10 years of experience as a systems integrator, PitPoint has the data, know-how and resources to make clean fuels available and affordable.
On December 13, 2016, Blue Sphere reported on Current Report on Form 8-K that Blue Sphere Brabant won a grant (the “Grant”) to receive a production subsidy on a per MWh basis from the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (“RVO”) under the Renewable Energy Production Incentive Scheme, or “SDE” (the “December 2016 Form 8-K”).
Based on the most updated financial models established for financing parameters, this project is expected to generate revenues of approximately €18,182,884 per annum, and €218,194,608 ($20,375,376, and $244,504,514 respectively) in total revenues over the lifetime of the project (12 years),
EPC Begins Their Design Work.
Blue Sphere Brabant entered into a Turnkey Agreement for the Engineering, Design Procurement Construction and Delivery of the Sterksel Project. Anaergia B.V., a Dutch limited liability private company, also a subsidiary of Anaergia Inc. a Canadian listed company (“Anaergia”), is the appointed EPC contractor. Pursuant to the EPC Agreement, Anaergia will perform the design, engineering procurement, construction and delivery of the Sterksel - Project with an upgraded biomethane design output capacity of 24,000,000 Nm3/year (or respectively 2,923Nm³/h), Anaergia shall also provide O&M services to Blue Sphere Brabant over the 12 years expected period of operation of the Sterksel Project.
Blue Sphere Brabant has handed over the construction site to Anaergia considered at May 22, 2019 this date will also be the starting date of construction. Anaergia is now completing the detailed engineering of the Sterksel Project and is expected to start the civil works on site in September 2019. The Sterksel Project is expected to start supplying gas to the grid in December 2020.
Shlomi Palas, the Blue Sphere’s CEO, commented, “We are thrilled that the we have achieved this key milestone and are excited to begin the design and construction of this important project for Blue Sphere. We have achieved something very special in financing this facility and the credit must go to the hard work and dedication of all Blue Sphere team members. This project has tested the perseverance of our company and we have shown what we can achieve, and I am very proud of our team! I must once again thank the team at Helios Capital who has worked with Blue Sphere through thick and thin. They are a great partner who fully understands the value we are creating in our projects.”
About Blue Sphere Corporation
Blue Sphere Corporation, is a diversified independent power producer that develops, owns, and operates clean-tech, waste-to-energy facilities in the United States and abroad. The company primarily converts organic waste into electricity, but also has the ability to generate heat, natural gas and organic byproducts through various technologies.
Blue Sphere facilities; eliminate waste that would normally be disposed in landfills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect water quality, helping to solve important global environmental issues.
Blue Sphere is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and has operations in the United States and Europe.
For further information about Blue Sphere, please visit the Company’s website: www.bluespherecorporate.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which are subject to risks and uncertainties and may change at any time. Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors including, without limitation, (i) uncertainties regarding general economic and market conditions, (ii) uncertainties regarding changes in the Clean tech sector, (iii) uncertainties regarding implementation of the Company’s business strategy, (iv) uncertainties regarding the development of the Netherlands Facility; (v) uncertainties regarding the operation of the Netherlands Facility once it commences operations; and (iv) other risk factors as outlined in the Company’s periodic reports, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As such, there is no assurance that the initiatives described in this press release will be successfully implemented or meet expectations. Forward-looking statements in this document speak only as of the date on which such statements were made, and we undertake no obligation to update any such statements that may become untrue because of subsequent events.
SOURCE: Blue Sphere Corporation