Disseminated on behalf of SolarBank Corporation
SolarBank (NASDAQ: SUUN) Eyes Growth While Tariffs Bite
The clean energy sector is navigating choppy waters in 2025. With President Trump reimposing tariffs on imported solar panels, batteries, and raw materials, costs are rising, supply chains are tightening, and markets are reacting.
But while some players are stumbling, others are finding new lanes to accelerate in…
SolarBank (NASDAQ: SUUN), the clean energy company that’s been quietly stacking solar and battery projects across North America, just made another big move.
The firm is planning an expansion into the data center arena – those digital fortresses that run everything from your Netflix binge to your AI chatbot obsession.
They’ve brought on industry veteran Jonathan Martone to spearhead the charge.
Martone isn’t just some consultant-for-hire; he’s the guy big private equity firms and tech giants call when they need to build serious infrastructure.
For over 25 years, he’s been designing and constructing the backbone of the internet – scouting sites, securing power, laying fiber, wrestling with utilities, and making sure the whole thing doesn’t blow a fuse.
Now he’s tasked with guiding SolarBank’s entry into the data center world, and his arrival sends a loud message: SolarBank isn’t just flirting with the idea, it’s going after it.
The timing couldn’t be better. Demand for data storage and computing is increasing thanks to the growth of artificial intelligence. And guess what AI needs to run? Power. Lots of it. That’s where SolarBank comes in: the company plans to supply that power with clean, renewable energy.
Martone will help them find the right sites; SolarBank will bring the juice; and the rest of the market is bringing the need. It’s a simple equation on paper, but one with enormous implications if executed well.
Of course, they haven’t broken ground yet. No data centers are under construction and no deals inked so far – SolarBank is still in the exploratory phase, scouting locations and talking with potential partners. This pivot is in its early days. But hiring Martone is a statement of intent.
It signals that SolarBank isn’t content to remain just a solar farm developer; it’s aiming to become a future-facing, energy-enabled infrastructure player, plugging directly into one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet.
This kind of synergy between big data and clean power is becoming increasingly essential. Electricity demand from data centers worldwide is set to more than double by 2030, with AI workloads being the single biggest driver of that surge.
In the United States alone, data centers could account for almost half of the growth in power demand over the next five years. After years of flat electricity usage, the digital boom is putting the power sector back on a growth path. Meeting that skyrocketing appetite sustainably is both a huge challenge and opportunity.
Zoom out, though, and SolarBank’s bold expansion is unfolding against a tricky backdrop.
The U.S. clean energy industry in 2025 is navigating some strong headwinds – chiefly, President Donald Trump’s recently reintroduced tariffs on imported solar panels and battery materials.
In March and APRIL 2025, the Trump administration imposed sweeping new trade duties, including 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, and broad levies on imports from China, Mexico, Canada, the EU and other countries around the world. Solar equipment didn’t escape unscathed.
Those “Made in America” trade measures have effectively raised the cost of many imported solar components. By some estimates, prices for critical hardware have jumped across the board – steel mounting racks for solar panels now cost about 18 percent more in the U.S., and imported solar cells about 20 percent more.
The supply shock has been immediate. Solar panel imports from once-major suppliers in Asia have fallen, with volumes from countries like Vietnam and Malaysia dropping by well over 60 percent in the first months of 2025.
These countries used to cover the bulk of U.S. solar demand; now that flow has slowed to a trickle, leaving a gaping supply gap.
For the clean energy sector, Trump’s tariff redux has been a gut punch. Projects that penciled out just fine a year ago are suddenly scrambling to re-calculate their costs.
Developers are facing delays and even cancellations as equipment gets pricier or harder to find. Industry advocates warn that this could stall the momentum of solar adoption just when it needs to accelerate, directly threatening progress on climate goals. In short, the tariffs threw a curveball at an industry that had been hitting record growth.
Notably, 2023 saw the U.S. install a record 32.4 GW of solar, more than half of all new electricity capacity added. That breakneck growth carried into early 2024, reflecting strong investor confidence before these policy shifts. Now in 2025, uncertainty has crept back in.
Clean energy stocks that were market darlings have hit some volatility as Wall Street tries to digest what the trade policies mean for costs and earnings.
And yet, it’s not all gloom in the solar stocks camp. Many analysts believe the industry can weather this storm. The tariffs, while disruptive, aren’t expected to completely derail the transition.
In fact, the trade measures might have a silver lining: they’re forcing a faster pivot to domestic manufacturing and more resilient supply chains.
U.S.-based solar producers are suddenly in an enviable position, as they’re largely shielded from these import taxes and even see their products becoming hotter commodities. The policy that hurts some parts of the solar ecosystem is boosting others – and investors are busy sorting out winners from losers.
So where does that leave a company like SolarBank (NASDAQ: SUUN)?
Interestingly, it puts them at the crux of risk and opportunity. On one hand, if SolarBank is planning to build and power data centers, it will need a steady supply of solar panels, battery systems, and all sorts of hardware potentially subject to tariffs. Margins could get pinched if costs stay high.
On the other hand, the demand side of the equation has never looked more promising.
The AI and cloud computing boom means there are deep-pocketed customers (think the Googles and Microsofts of the world, or hungry data startups) desperate for reliable energy, and increasingly green energy to meet sustainability goals. These companies are pledging to eventually run on 100 percent renewable power and will sign big contracts for it.
If SolarBank can position itself as a provider of clean energy for data centers, it could tap into a new revenue stream at a time when traditional utility solar farms are also still growing. The pie is getting bigger.
This transitional moment – with policy turbulence on one side and roaring demand on the other – is exactly when bold moves can pay off. Investors who are interested in solar and clean energy stocks are watching for who can capitalize.
SolarBank’s play is a bet that it can be one of those winners by straddling both the energy and tech worlds. By expanding into powering data centers, SolarBank is essentially hitching its fortunes to one of the fastest-growing energy consumers out there.
If it succeeds, the upside could be significant: not only would it diversify its business, but it would also elevate its profile in the market as an innovator at the intersection of renewables and AI-era infrastructure.
Importantly, clean energy infrastructure is becoming more vital than ever in the grand scheme. The world’s largest economies are insisting on more domestic clean energy capacity – partly as a response to trade conflicts like these tariffs, and partly to meet climate commitments.
In the U.S., even as federal trade policy makes some imports pricier, other policies (from state-level clean energy standards to federal tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act) continue to incentivize solar, wind, and battery build-outs. And as the IEA’s data shows, without a massive scale-up of green power, the data revolution could hit a power wall. Now the current administration is looking at repealing all or part of the Inflation Reduction Act so there is some uncertainty around continuing federal tax credits. However, this should not impact State level incentives.
In that light, SolarBank’s pivot could be coming at exactly the right inflection point for the renewable sector. It’s a signal that renewable energy companies aren’t just out to replace coal plants in the grid mix; they’re aiming to directly power the new digital economy.
We may look back on moves like this as the moment the clean energy industry stepped into a bigger arena.
There are still plenty of “ifs” ahead. SolarBank (NASDAQ: SUUN) will need to execute flawlessly – securing sites, navigating local permits, lining up financing, actually building both the solar farms and the data centers and managing its supply chain to mitigate the impact of tariffs. Any stumbles, and bigger players could steal the march. But bringing in Jonathan Martone, a heavyweight who knows how to get these mega-projects done, tilts the odds in SolarBank’s favor.
The stage is set and the opportunity is real. Now it’s all about delivery. And if Martone’s history is any guide, he doesn’t miss. In a year of converging trends and swirling uncertainties, SolarBank’s bold gambit is exactly the kind of narrative that clean energy investors find intriguing: a small solar company thinking big, leaning into the winds of change, and daring to help power the next era of digital innovation with green energy.
TL;DR:
SolarBank (NASDAQ: SUUN) is making a bold move into the growing data center space by hiring infrastructure veteran Jonathan Martone to lead the charge.
While Trump’s new tariffs are squeezing the solar supply chain and causing turbulence across clean energy markets, SolarBank is positioning itself at the intersection of renewables and AI-driven energy demand.
If it executes well, the company could become a key player in powering the digital economy with green energy, offering investors a compelling growth story in a volatile but opportunity-rich landscape.
Source References
- International Energy Agency (IEA), “Electricity 2024” Report
- Reuters, “Trump Revives Tariffs on Steel, Solar in Latest Trade Move”, March 2025
- pv magazine USA, “Solar Imports Plunge Under New Tariffs”, April 2025
- Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), “US Solar Market Insight 2024 Year in Review”
- Bloomberg Green, “Data Centers and AI Fuel Surge in US Power Demand”, Feb 2025
- Clean Energy Associates, “Q1 2025 Market Outlook: Tariff Impact on Solar Supply Chains”
- First Solar, Investor Relations Updates and Earnings Reports, 2024–2025
- S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Monthly Energy Review”, April 2025
- Wood Mackenzie, “Tariffs Reshape U.S. Solar Procurement Landscape”, April 2025
- White House Press Briefing, Office of the Trade Representative, March 2025
Disclaimer:
There are several risks associated with the development of the projects detailed in this report. The development of any project is subject to the continued availability of third-party financing arrangements for the project owners and the risks associated with the construction of a solar project. There is no certainty the projects disclosed in this report will be completed on schedule or that they will operate in accordance with their design capacity. In addition, governments may revise, reduce or eliminate incentives and policy support schemes for solar power, which could result in future projects no longer being economic.
There are several risks associated with the development of any data center. While SolarBank is expanding into the data center industry, it does not currently have any data center projects under development or that it has secured rights to. It is in discussions with various other parties regarding potential data center opportunities and will provide details in a future news release if an agreement to acquire or develop a data center is concluded. The development of any data center project is subject to identification of a suitable project site, receipt of required permits, entry into contracts for construction and the use of the data center, the availability of third-party financing arrangements for the Company and the risks associated with the construction of a data center. In addition, governments may revise, reduce or eliminate incentives and policy support schemes for renewable energy, which could result in future projects no longer being economic.
This report contains forward-looking information. Please refer to the SolarBank press releases entitled: “Data Center Expert Jonathan Martone Retained by SolarBank Corporation to Power Strategic Expansion” available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, for additional details on the statements, risks and assumptions.
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