GUELPH, Ontario, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc.
(the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the
world's largest solar power companies, today announced it
has secured US$50 million in
non-recourse project financing for its 100.1 MWp solar power
project in Cafayate, Salta Province,
Argentina.
The US$50 million non-recourse
financing package, arranged by CAF - Development Bank of Latin
America, consists of a US$30
million CAF A-loan with a 15-year tenor, a US$15 million parallel loan from the Argentinian
Development Bank of Investment and Foreign Trade (BICE) with a
15-year tenor, and a US$5 million
parallel loan from the Bank of the City
of Buenos Aires (Banco de la Ciudad) with a 10-year
tenor.
CAF and Canadian Solar have a financing target of US$75 million, and are seeking an additional
US$25 million in senior financing
which is expected to close in early 2019.
Canadian Solar's Cafayate Project is financed under the
RenovAR program. The program was launched in 2016 to increase
energy from renewables sources to 20% of the national electricity
energy consumption by 2025. The program comprises 20-year U.S.
dollar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with indexation, fiscal
incentives for investment in projects, and a three-level guarantee
mechanism, including a World Bank guarantee and the Argentina's government guarantee through the
Trust Fund for Renewable Energy (FODER).
The Cafayate solar project was awarded a U.S. dollar indexed PPA
of US$56.28/MWh during the second renewable public tender
(RenovAR 1.5).
The solar project is currently under construction and is
expected to reach commercial operation in the second quarter of
2019. Approximately 289,800 Canadian Solar's high efficiency
MaxPower CS6U-P 345 W modules will be installed. Once energized,
the power plant will generate around 239,696 MWh of electricity per
year, which will be sold to CAMMESA, the national wholesale power
market administrator and clearinghouse.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Canadian Solar commented, "We are
delighted to secure high-quality, long-term financing of up to
15 years which is a testament to the success of the Argentina government and the World Bank in
designing a robust RenovAR program. The program is expected to
attract US$15 billion in renewable
energy investments over the next decade in Argentina. We value our partnership with
leading financial institutions across Argentina and Latin
America to promote the growth of clean renewable energy in
the region."
About CAF
The mission of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, is to promote sustainable
development and regional integration by means of financing projects
in the public and private sectors, providing technical cooperation,
and other specialized services. Created in 1970, it is made up of
19 countries, 17 Latin American and Caribbean, together with Spain and Portugal, and 13 private banks, it is one of
the main sources of multilateral financing and an important
generator of knowledge for the region. More information in
www.caf.com. CAF, Direction of Strategic Communications,
prensa@caf.com. Find us at: Facebook: CAF.America.Latina /
Twitter: @AgendaCAF
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 17 years,
Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 30 GW of premium
quality modules to over 150 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.
Canadian Solar's 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 26, 2018. 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.