GUELPH, Ontario, April 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar
Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of
the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that it
has secured financing for its 92 MWp IS-42 solar power project near
Fayetteville, North Carolina. The financing is in the form of
a debt facility with Prudential Capital Group and a tax equity
investment commitment from U.S. Bancorp Community Development
Corporation (USBCDC).
Prudential Capital Group will provide a $97 million debt facility, including tax equity
bridge loan, term loan, and revolving loan to the project.
USBCDC, a division of U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB), will make a tax equity
investment in the project under a separate agreement.
"This agreement with leading financial institutions such as
Prudential Capital Group and U.S. Bank demonstrates the quality of
the solar projects which Canadian Solar is developing in the U.S.,"
said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. "We are glad to
further strengthen our partnership with Prudential Capital Group
and USBCDC with this large project and support the growth of the
solar industry in the country."
"We are excited to support Canadian Solar in their efforts to
construct and operate solar projects in the United States," said Wendy Carlson, Managing Director
of Prudential Capital Group's Energy Finance Group:
Power. "We are pleased to continue building our relationship
with Canadian Solar and USBCDC."
"Canadian Solar is bringing an important piece of the renewable
energy framework to North Carolina
with this project. The estimated 509 construction jobs plus the
permanent positions it will create are important factors for
economic development in the state along with providing a clean
source of renewable energy for residents," said Adam Altenhofen, Vice President of
USBCDC.
The 92 MWp project, covering an area of approximately 450 acres
in the Bladen and Cumberland counties of North Carolina, is currently under
construction and is expected to reach commercial operation in the
third quarter of 2017. The project has a long-term Power
Purchase Agreement with Duke Energy Progress. Once
operational, the project will generate enough clean solar energy to
power approximately 11,750 homes in the state.
CohnReznick Capital Markets Securities acted as financial
advisor to Canadian Solar in the transaction.
About Prudential Capital Group
Prudential Capital Group is the private placement arm
of PGIM, the global investment management business of
Prudential Financial, Inc. Prudential Capital Group manages a
$76.8 billion portfolio of debt and
equity investments and invests up to $12
billion, annually, in middle-market companies. Energy
Finance Group: Power is part of Prudential Capital Group with
$8 billion portfolio in power
projects, utilities and cooperatives (as of December 31, 2016).
About U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation
With $23 billion in managed assets
as of March 31, 2017, U.S. Bancorp
Community Development Corporation, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank,
provides innovative financing solutions for community development
projects across the country using state and federally sponsored tax
credit programs. USBCDC's commitments provide capital investment to
areas that need it the most and have contributed to the creation of
new jobs, the rehabilitation of historic buildings, the
construction of needed affordable and market-rate homes, the
development of renewable energy facilities, and the generation of
commercial economic activity in underserved communities. Visit
USBCDC on the web at www.usbank.com/cdc.
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 16 years,
Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 20 GW of premium
quality modules to over 100 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.
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 results, 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; cancelation
of utility-scale feed-in-tariff contracts in Japan; 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.
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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.