GUELPH,
ON, Nov. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/
-- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar")
(NASDAQ: CSIQ) announced today that its Japan flagship mega-project, the 100 MWp Azuma
Kofuji solar project located in the Fukushima Prefecture, recently
reached commercial operation.
The Azuma Kofuji project is Canadian Solar's largest project in
Japan and Fukushima Prefecture's
largest operational solar project to date. The project is powered
with Canadian Solar high efficiency HiKu modules and the energy
generated is being purchased by the Tohoku Electric Power Company
at the rate of JPY36 (U$0.26) per kWh
under Japan's feed-in-tariff
program for over 18 years. Canadian Solar's local subsidiary will
perform the long-term operations and maintenance of the power
plant.
Built on 460 acres, most of which were converted from abandoned
agricultural land following the application of the newly enacted
Japanese legislation to promote renewable energy power generation,
Azuma Kofuji is expected to produce circa 106,800 MWh of clean and
reliable energy, enough to power approximately 31,000 households
and avoid over 50,000 metrics tons of CO2-equivalent emissions per
year. Furthermore, the project will donate a share of the
electricity sales revenues to the Fukushima City, funds of which
will be used to promote local agricultural sector activities.
The project was financed by Nomura Capital Investment Co., Ltd.
with a construction debt of JPY 24.5
billion (approximately U$175 million), which received an
Asset Triple A deal award under the Renewable Energy Deal of
the Year Category. The project is expected to participate in the
Climate Bonds green certification process which is compatible with
the new European Union Green Bond Standard.
"We are delighted to contribute our part to revitalize the
Fukushima Prefecture. Before construction works began, the Azuma
Kofuji project site was an abandoned, non-productive farmland. Our
teams worked closely with the local communities and government in
the land conversion process and successfully passed the
Environmental Impact Assessment monitored by the Fukushima
Prefecture. We are proud to help reinvigorate the local community
and economy in a region that was heavily hit by the 2011 Great East
Japan Earthquake. We want to ensure that local communities are
long-term beneficiaries of clean, renewable energy, and we are
proud to take part in rebuilding economic and energy resilience in
the Fukushima hometowns while supporting Japan's 2050 carbon neutrality ambitions.
Furthermore, I am proud that our team persevered through a time of
great economic and market uncertainty to bring this valuable
project to good end," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian
Solar.
He added, "These projects continue to expand Canadian Solar's
strong track record in Japan as we
keep developing our business in a sustainable and responsible
manner and contributing to Japan's
clean energy transition. We now have over 470 MWp of utility-scale
projects that are operational or under construction, and two
partnership platforms in Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund (TSE:
9284) and Japan Green Infrastructure Fund. We are also one of the
strongest solar module brands in Japan driven by our differentiated technology
and large manufacturing scale. Put together, we have further
solidified Canadian Solar's leadership position as the most
integrated solar player in the Japanese market. We thank our
financing partners who continue to support Canadian Solar with
low-cost capital, which allow us to develop and expand our
high-quality project portfolio in Japan."
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar
technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading
manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar
energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of
utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a
geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of
development. Over the past 21 years, Canadian Solar has
successfully delivered around 76 GW of premium-quality, solar
photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Likewise, since
entering the project development business in 2010, Canadian Solar
has developed, built and connected over 6.8 GWp in over 20
countries across the world. Currently, the Company has around 311
MWp of solar projects in operation, 5.3 GWp of projects under
construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 21 GWp
of projects in pipeline (mid- to early-stage). Canadian Solar
is one of the most bankable companies in the solar and renewable
energy industry, having been publicly listed on the 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, regulatory
and economic conditions and the state of the solar and battery
storage market and industry; geopolitical tensions and conflicts,
including impasses, sanctions and export controls; volatility,
uncertainty, delays and disruptions related to the COVID-19
pandemic; supply chain disruptions; 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., China, Brazil
and India; changes in effective
tax rates; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product
mix; changes in corporate responsibility, especially environmental,
social and governance ("ESG") requirements; capacity utilization;
level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in or failure
to timely adjust 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 that
customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity
requirements; availability of financing; exchange and inflation
rate fluctuations; uncertainties related to the CSI Solar carve-out
listing; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
annual report on Form 20-F/A filed on October 18, 2022. 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.