What it does
Corcel has just changed its name from Regency Mines and it’s a completely new business with a new name and new board, says CEO Scott Kaintz, though it does retain some elements of the old to blend with the new.
Corcel has recently been active on the Mambare nickel project in Papua New Guinea and has acquired exposure to a second nickel project at the nearby Wowo Gap.
And there’s also the exploration campaign that’s now getting underway on the company’s Dempster vanadium project in Canada.
Corcel has also moved into flexible energy production and storage in the UK.
The strategic vision is simple enough: if Corcel can involve itself in enough UK energy projects at attractive enough prices, then the resultant cash flow ought to be perfect for sustaining a small company which aspires to bigger and better things.
“The idea,” says Kaintz, “is that we would be able to fund ourselves and then some from battery projects.”
These, in turn, provide cashflow on an individual basis at very little risk to the company, since each is financed using its own special purpose vehicle.
“We’d like to get 200MW-to-300MW into the portfolio,” he says. “200MW makes you a bit of a player in this space.”
As well as flexible power, assets it also owns 50% of the Mambare nickel-cobalt laterite project in Papua New Guinea and 50% of the Dempster Vanadium project in Canada. It also holds 8.9% in Curzon Energy PLC (LON:CZN), a US-focused natural gas developer.
How it's doing
Results for the year to the end of June 2020 reflected the change of structure and direction of the business and Corcel reported a loss of 1.48mln, which also included increased activity at Mambare.
Corcel also announced the buy-out of the outstanding 50% of the Burwell battery storage and solar project for £90,000, which it now intends to make operational.
After a review of revenue projections, Corcell added it had sanctioned the project to proceed to "shovel ready" status and thereafter Financial Close.
The company added it is securing the 100MW 132kV UK Power Networks grid connection offer by paying the associated deposit.
Burwell is expected to begin operations in 2022, and as such, the project will be entered into the Capacity Market auction for 2025, which would provide a fixed guaranteed source of revenue for the project over a 15-year initial period.
The Capacity Market is a government-mandated scheme which offers developers guaranteed returns to maintain a reliable energy supply and to avoid potential blackout situations in the UK.
Limejump will utilize the battery's capacity for electricity trading purposes in the years prior to the project entering the Capacity Market, at which point the guaranteed revenue stream will come online alongside ongoing trading activities.
What the boss says: James Parsons, executive chairman
“Overall, after a focused period of restructuring, rebranding and clean up, and despite the highly challenging external environment, we believe shareholders have good cause to be optimistic about the future of Corcel Plc.”
Inflexion points
- Burwell project progresses
- Exploration at Mambare
- Southport project moves forward