Canadian Solar Awarded 393.7 MWp Solar Power Projects in Brazil
GUELPH, Ontario, Oct. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced it has been awarded three solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totaling 393.7 MWp in two recent Private Corporate Auctions held in Brazil in the third quarter of 2019.
Canadian Solar will develop and build two projects, one in the State of Pernambuco (190.5 MWp) and the other in the State of Ceará (76.2 MWp). The latter will be an expansion of the existing Project Lavras which is under development by the company. Construction is expected to start in 2021, and the projects will reach commercial operation before the end of 2022. Once in operation, the two solar power plants will generate approximately 598 GWh of electricity annually. Most of the energy generated will be purchased by COPEL Energia, which is part of COPEL Group, one of the top 10 energy trading companies in Brazil under two 15-year Power Purchase Agreements ("PPAs").
In addition, the Company will develop and build a 127 MWp project in the State of Minas Gerais, southeast of Brazil, which is expected to reach commercial operation before January 2023. Once in operation, this solar power plant will generate approximately 280 GWh of electricity annually. Most of the energy generated will be purchased by one of the largest electric utilities in the country under a long-term PPA. This project will be constructed in the same region and close to other existing projects developed and built by Canadian Solar in Minas Gerais.
Canadian Solar's high efficiency bifacial BiHiKu modules are planned to be installed on the three projects. These corporate PPAs will be the first of its kind to be executed by Canadian Solar in Brazil and will add to the company's portfolio of more than 1 GWp of contracted PPAs since the company entered the Brazilian market. Canadian Solar now has over 2 GWp of awarded and contracted PPAs in Latin America.
Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, commented, "We are proud to be the only company that has been successful in winning projects in all six federal energy auctions held to date in Brazil and now winning our first batch of corporate PPAs in this booming market. This win demonstrates our long-term commitment to solar energy in Brazil and is the first step to initiate investment in the Brazilian Corporate Power Purchase Agreements market."
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions and has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. Over the past 18 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 36 GW of premium quality modules to customers in over 150 countries around the world. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the Company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit www.canadiansolar.com.
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Japan, the U.S., India and China; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; delays in utility-scale project approval process; delays in utility-scale project construction; delays in the completion of project sales; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 25, 2019. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.
