Samsung and Canadian Solar Open Solar Manufacturing Facility in London

LONDON, Ontario, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The London community celebrated the start of over 200 local renewable energy jobs at the grand opening of the Canadian Solar Inc. (Canadian Solar) manufacturing facility today. This is the fourth manufacturing facility to be created by Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. (Samsung) under the Green Energy Investment Agreement (GEIA) with the Government of Ontario.

The Canadian Solar plant, located at 1400 Global Drive, began operations in November, 2013. The plant produces solar PV modules and medium voltage power stations to supply Samsung's Ontario solar projects, including the 100 megawatt (MW) Grand Renewable Energy Park in Haldimand County, the 100 MW Sol-Luce Kingston Solar PV project in Kingston and Loyalist Township, and future solar projects within the GEIA. The new facility is also a hub for solar energy research and product development.

Not only does this facility fulfill Samsung's GEIA commitment to create hundreds of manufacturing jobs at four plants, it also enables Samsung to create thousands of engineering, procurement and construction jobs at its solar projects in communities around Ontario. In total, Samsung's GEIA projects will create 9,000 renewable energy jobs across the province.

Samsung and its partners are investing $5-billion in Ontario to create the largest cluster of solar and wind power anywhere on the planet. Under the GEIA, Samsung will develop 300 MW of solar power in Ontario, part of a total of 1,369 MW of clean, renewable energy that will contribute to Ontario's initiative to phase-out coal-fired generation by the end of 2014.

The Canadian Solar plant joins Samsung's Ontario manufacturing partners Siemens in Tillsonburg, CS Wind in Windsor, and SMA in Toronto. Together, the four manufacturing facilities now employ over 1000 Ontario manufacturing workers. Samsung will support all of its manufacturing partners' efforts to develop export markets beyond the GEIA project.

"Samsung is delivering on our commitments to the people of London and throughout Ontario. As a globally responsible company, we are proud to develop clean energy that is protecting the air that we breathe. We are equally proud to contribute to the local economies in our project and manufacturing communities."

– Ki-Jung Kim, Senior Vice President, Samsung C&T

"Samsung's commitment to develop clean energy is aligned with our goal of contributing to the growth of solar powered energy in Canada.  The London manufacturing facility will produce modules and medium voltage power stations to support the build out of Samsung's solar project pipeline and create green jobs in the Province of Ontario market, while at the same time consolidating our position as the leading provider of solar energy solutions in Canada."

– Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Solar Inc.

Ontario's landmark green energy initiatives are all about our future. I'm proud of our renewable energy sector and the robust industry we've created and I'm confident that our clean energy investments will continue to be a source of jobs for Ontarians for years to come."

– Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Energy

"On behalf of my colleagues in the federal government, I congratulate Canadian Solar and Samsung on the opening of this facility today. Our government knows that we must continue to work hard to make southern Ontario a great place to invest and do business. The benefits of this are clear: jobs for our people, growth for our businesses and success for our region as well as Canada as a whole."

– Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario)

"I'm delighted that Canadian Solar chose to open here in London, creating new manufacturing, research and development jobs. This is great news for London and will help boost our local economy, and also continues our government's commitment to building cleaner energy in Ontario."

– Deb Matthews MPP, London North Centre

About Samsung Renewable Energy Inc.

Samsung Renewable Energy is creating clean, renewable energy for generations to come. Together with our partners, Samsung is making a $5-billion investment in Ontario to create the world's largest cluster of wind and solar power. Our investments will create 900 direct renewable energy manufacturing jobs and 9,000 high-skilled jobs in Ontario. Built on Samsung C&T's commercial and technical expertise and the success of its renewable energy projects in several countries – including the United States and Europe – Samsung is creating real jobs, through real investment, benefitting real people. For more information, please visit www.samsungrenewableenergy.ca.

About Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ)

Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of solar modules, specialized solar products and solar power plants with operations in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar has delivered more than 4GW of premium quality solar modules to customers in over 50 countries. Canadian Solar is committed to improve the environment and dedicated to provide advanced solar energy products, solutions and services to enable sustainable development around the world. For more information, please 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 the risks regarding 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 in our project markets, including Canada; changes in customer order patterns; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; utility-scale project approval process; delays in utility-scale project construction; 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, 2013. 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. You 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.