GUELPH, Ontario and
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil,
Oct. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/
-- Canadian Solar Inc. (the
"Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the
world's largest solar power companies, and EDF Energies Nouvelles,
a global market leader in renewable energy, announced today the
sale of 80% interest in Canadian Solar's Pirapora I solar energy
project in Brazil to EDF Energies
Nouvelles' local subsidiary, EDF EN do Brasil. The 191.5 MWp
Project is starting construction and expects to reach commercial
operation in the third quarter of 2017. Canadian Solar will
supply the modules for the Project from its new 360 MWp modules
factory established in Brazil to
support the local market.
The Project, located in the state of Minas Gerais in
Brazil, was awarded a 20-year
Power Purchase Agreement in the second Reserve Energy Auction in
2015. Once completed, the Project will generate 391,263 MWh per
year and contribute towards the country's goal of obtaining 23% of
its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
"The investment by EDF Energies Nouvelles in Canadian Solar's
Pirapora I project is a demonstration of the strong potential of
the solar energy market in Brazil. Pirapora I is one of
Canadian Solar's three current projects in the country totaling 394
MWp with awarded long-term PPAs. We plan to grow our project
portfolio and support the domestic solar market with our 360 MWp
module manufacturing plant. We are glad to partner with a
strategic investor such as EDF EN in the implementation of our
first project in Brazil," said Dr.
Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Canadian Solar.
Antoine Cahuzac, Senior Executive
Vice President in Renewable Energies of EDF and Chief Executive
Officer of EDF Energies Nouvelles added, "With
this Pirapora major new solar project in partnership
with a specialised company such as Canadian
Solar, two wind projects currently under
construction by EDF Energies Nouvelles , and having in mind
the hydraulic project -Sinop- the EDF group is involved in, all
this confirms a strong ambition to strengthen and
diversify the Edf Group renewables assets portfolio
in Brazil."
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Founded in 2001 in Canada,
Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar
power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic
modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also
has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power
projects in various stages of development. In the past 15 years,
Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 16 GW of premium
quality modules to over 90 countries around the world. Furthermore,
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.
About EDF Energies Nouvelles
EDF Energies Nouvelles is a market leader in renewable energy
electricity, with a portfolio of more than 9 GW gross installed
capacity focused for the most part on wind (onshore and offshore)
and solar photovoltaic energy. Mostly operating in Europe and North
America, EDF Energies Nouvelles continues its development by
taking strong positions in promising emerging areas such as
Brazil, Chile, China,
India or South Africa. The Company is also present in
other segments of the renewable energy market: marine energy,
biomass and distributed energies. EDF Energies Nouvelles manages
renewable energy projects' development and construction as well as
operation and maintenance for its own account and for third
parties. EDF Energies Nouvelles is a subsidiary of the EDF Group
dedicated to renewable energy. Visit us:
www.edf-energies-nouvelles.com and follow us on:
www.linkedin.com/company/edf-energies-nouvelles?trk=ppro_cprof
Canadian Solar Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release regarding the Company's
expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, business prospects
and future quarterly or annual results, particularly the management
quotations and the statements in the "Business Outlook" section,
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; 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 20, 2016. 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.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-solar-and-edf-energies-nouvelles-to-partner-and-start-construction-of-a-1915-mwp-solar-energy-project-in-brazil-300342480.html
SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.