Canadian Solar Signs 12 MWp Private PPA with Centrica Energy Trading in Italy

GUELPH, ON, July 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company" or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), today announced it has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Centrica Energy Trading A/S ("Centrica Energy Trading") for two solar power projects totaling 12 MWp in Italy. Centrica Energy Trading is a leading provider of energy management and optimization services, operating in power, gas and energy certificate markets across Europe.

The two solar projects of 6 MWp each are located in Trapani and Enna, Sicily. They are currently under development by Canadian Solar with construction planned to start before the end of 2021. Centrica Energy Trading will purchase the clean solar energy produced by the two solar power projects after they reach commercial operation in April 2022. Powered by Canadian Solar's high efficiency modules, the solar plants will produce approximately 23 GWh electricity annually, enough to power close to 9,000 homes in Italy and equivalent to displacing 7,150 tons of annual carbon emissions.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar commented, "I am proud to announce our second 12 MWp PPA in Italy in less than 2 months. The two solar projects signed with Centrica are part of a 1.3 GWp portfolio of subsidy-free solar assets we are developing in Italy, with various counterparties, as we execute on our portfolio management strategy and expand our presence in this market. We are proud to work on this opportunity with Centrica, one of the leading energy traders in Europe, and look forward to collaborating further."

Ricardo Rossi, Head of Southern European Origination at Centrica Energy Marketing & Trading commented, "We are delighted to be part of the energy transition journey with Canadian Solar. We believe that through robust, economic PPA structures, we can make new renewable assets financially viable without the need of public subsidies."

About Centrica Energy Trading

Centrica is a leading international energy services and solutions provider, founded on a 200-year heritage of serving people. We serve around 13 million customers across the UK, Ireland, North America and continental Europe through brands such as British Gas. We are focused on satisfying the changing needs of our customers, enabling them to transition to a lower carbon future. 

Energy Marketing and Trading is the trading and optimisation arm of Centrica plc. We are a leading provider of energy management and optimisation services to businesses, in addition to managing commodity risk and providing wholesale market access for the Centrica Group. We have 14GW of capacity under contract in Europe, more than 80% of which is renewable assets.

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 20 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 55 GW of premium-quality, solar photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Likewise, since entering the solar project development business in 2010, Canadian Solar has developed, built and connected over 5.7 GWp in over 20 countries across the world. Currently, the Company has around 500 MWp of projects in operation, nearly 6 GWp of projects under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 15 GWp of projects in pipeline (mid- to early- stage). Additionally, Canadian Solar has 1.2 GWh of battery storage projects under construction, and nearly 17 GWh of battery storage projects in backlog or pipeline. 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, including but not limited to the use of proceeds, 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; volatility, uncertainty, delays and disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; 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, China and Brazil; 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; delays in the process of qualifying to list the CSI Solar subsidiary in the PRC; 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 19, 2021. 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.