Canadian Solar Secures 86 MWp in Japan's 8th Solar Auction Solidifying Its #1 Market Share Position in Japan

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Jun 29, 2021, 07:00 ET

GUELPH, ON, June 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that it has been awarded 86 MWp in Japan's 8^th solar energy auction, accounting for the largest share of the total capacity auctioned.

The total of 86 MWp includes three projects located in the Tohoku region: an 80 MWp project in Miyagi Prefecture, a 3 MWp project located in Fukushima Prefecture and a 3 MWp project located in Aomori Prefecture. Once constructed, these projects will enter into a 20-year power purchase agreement with Tohoku Power Electric Company at a weighted average rate of ¥10.77 ($0.098) per kWh. The Company expects the projects to reach commercial operation between the years of 2024 and 2026.

Canadian Solar has the largest cumulative market share in Japan's feed-in-tariff (FIT) auction program since its launch in 2017. It is also the only company that has participated and won projects in every Japanese FIT auction, demonstrating the Company's competitiveness and commitment to this market. Since entering Japan's solar project development business in 2011, the Company has executed on over 45 projects across the country and is currently in the process of executing on nearly 30 projects to be delivered over the next 3-5 years.

"We continue to grow our market presence in Japan. The 80 MWp project in Miyagi will become the second largest project we have developed in this market and will add to our existing portfolio of more than 450 MWp of utility-scale projects that are operational or under construction," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. "We have operated in Japan for ten years and have a long-term commitment to it, helping to achieve its 2050 goal for net carbon neutrality. Our business structure in Japan gives us a competitive advantage as we have strong local solar project development, operations and maintenance and asset management teams. We have also sponsored and partially own the largest listed infrastructure fund in Japan, the Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund (TSE: 9284) which continues to help fund future growth in this sector, and have a leading module brand presence across the rooftop and utility-scale market segments."

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.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.