Canadian Solar lands deal for three solar power plants in Brazil

Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, today announced that it has won 3 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totaling 114 megawatts (MW) In Vazante, in the state in Minas Gerais in Brazil.

Canadian Solar, in partnership with Solatio, will develop, build and own the solar power plants which, once connected to the grid, will sell the electricity generated to the Agencia Nacional de Energia Eletrica, a Brazilian government entity, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement at R$216.12/MWh ($86.42/MWh).

“We entered the utility scale project development business to differentiate our business model, expand and stabilize our profit margins over the business cycle. We have since successfully leveraged our experience in Canada to expand our project business in key geographies. This win in Brazil is a testament to the strength of our project development capabilities, and positions us well to participate in the growth in demand for solar energy across the globe,” commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar.

“We are convinced that in order to be successful in such a demanding market as the energy sector in Brazil, it is absolutely mandatory to have profound local knowledge of the industry and the country as well as high-quality project developments, concepts on which Solatio has based its work from the very beginning in Brazil,” commented Pedro Vaquer, Solatio partner. “Undoubtedly, a collaboration agreement with a sound international player as Canadian Solar translates into the perfect combination for the success of our projects,” added Antonio Rodriguez, Solatio partner.

Solatio has pioneered PV project development in Brazil for years when PV technology was still unknown in the country, having applied strong efforts aimed at transferring know-how to the Brazilian society at all levels, hence favouring PV project development leadership for Solatio (with over 1300 MW pre-qualified by EPE to participate in Brazilian auctions and 100% qualification ratio for registered projects).

Founded in 2001 in Ontario, 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 has an industry leading and geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale solar power projects as well as a track record of successful solar deployment boasting over 7 GW of premium quality modules installed in over 70 countries during the past decade. Canadian Solar is committed to providing high-quality solar products and solar energy solutions to customers around the world.