Canadian Solar and Gresham House announce transaction for a renewables and battery energy storage portfolio in the UK

GUELPH, ON and LONDON, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), announces today that it has completed the sale of two fully-permitted solar and battery energy storage projects in the UK to specialist alternative asset manager, Gresham House.

The two projects comprise a collocated solar and battery energy storage project in Durham, with 50 MWp solar capacity and 38 MW (or 76 MWh) of battery energy storage, and a standalone solar project in Warwickshire of 28 MWp.

Both parties aim to continue to prioritise collocated renewable projects, where the solar PV and battery energy storage plants are built together and share the same grid connection infrastructure. These projects provide both economic advantages, particularly in the form of shared capital and operating costs, as well as significant benefits to the UK grid by improving system reliability, enabling greater integration of renewables and thereby helping the UK economy meet its net-zero carbon targets.

The project in Durham is Canadian Solar's first collocated solar PV and battery energy storage project in the UK and it represents the second collocated solar and battery energy storage project acquired by Gresham House. 

The projects are entirely subsidy-free, consistent with Canadian Solar's long pipeline of UK opportunities under development.

Both projects are fully permitted and construction-ready. Canadian Solar will continue to be involved in the projects, being responsible for the long-term operations and maintenance activities.

Gresham House New Energy invests in clean energy projects harnessing battery energy storage, solar and wind technologies. The team has a proven track record in acquiring and managing projects throughout their development, construction and operational phases, with a total capacity of 0.7 GW currently operating in the UK.

Canadian Solar is active in the UK renewables market with a 1.8 GWp PV solar and 4.3 GWh battery energy storage pipeline under development. Canadian Solar also has significant track record in this market, having developed and interconnected to the grid a total capacity of 200 MWp. This transaction is consistent with Canadian Solar's growth strategy in the UK and broader Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region which combines an increasing retention of strategic long-term ownership with the execution of strategic sales of selected portfolios in partnership with top tier investors.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar's Chairman and CEO, commented: "The execution of this transaction demonstrates again our expertise in battery energy storage development and proves the recognised value of our fast-growing pipeline in the UK, one of Canadian Solar's core markets in EMEA. This sale represents our very first collocated solar and battery energy storage project successfully delivered in the UK. Our decision to sell the two projects before construction is primarily aimed at obtaining immediate market recognition and it does not preclude Canadian Solar from building, alone or in partnerships, the next projects developed in the UK or in EMEA. We are pleased to partner with Gresham House, whose undisputed position as the UK's leading investor in battery energy storage certifies the strong appreciation of our project development and O&M capabilities, strengthening our position and strategy in the UK."

Peter Bolton, Investment Director, Renewable Energy at Gresham House, said: "We are excited by the opportunity to expand our portfolio of subsidy-free renewables and to secure further collocated solar and battery energy storage assets. Gresham House is a long-established investor in both renewables and battery energy storage, and we believe in the strong economic case for collocating the technologies on the same site. This reflects a UK-wide requirement for more renewables capacity and for battery energy storage to support the grid system as further intermittent renewable generation is added.

"It is great to formalise our relationship with Canadian Solar. Their strong reputation across the solar and battery energy storage supply chain, combined with development-stage track record, means we hope to complete further transactions together in the future."

About Gresham House

Gresham House plc is a specialist alternative investment manager with assets under management of c.£7.2 billion (as at 30 June December 2022 - unaudited figures, 13 July 2022 Trading Statement).

Gresham House New Energy is the clean energy division of Gresham House, focused on battery energy storage, solar and wind technologies. The New Energy Team has a proven track record in acquiring and managing projects throughout their development, construction and operational phases, with a total capacity of 0.7GW currently operating in the UK.

Gresham House Asset Management is the FCA-authorised operating business of Gresham House plc, a London Stock Exchange quoted specialist alternative asset manager. Gresham House is committed to operating responsibly and sustainably, taking the long view in delivering sustainable investment solutions. For more information visit www.greshamhouse.com

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 around 71 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 6.6 GWp in over 20 countries across the world. Currently, the Company has around 800 MWp of solar projects in operation, 5.3 GWp of projects under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 18.5 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 filed on April 28, 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.

Canadian Solar Inc. Investor Relations Contacts
Isabel Zhang
Investor Relations
Canadian Solar Inc.
[email protected]

David Pasquale
Global IR Partners
Tel: +1-914-337-8801
[email protected]

Gresham House Contact
KL Communications
Charles Gorman / Henry Taylor
[email protected] 
020 3995 6699

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.