Canadian Solar US Projects Team Breaks Ground on 2.5MW Solar Plant in North Carolina

SAN RAMON, Calif. and MINNEAPOLIS, Sep. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, and Mortenson Construction, a leading engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) Contractor, broke ground on a 2.5 MW PV solar installation in Laurinburg, NC, an agricultural community in Scotland county. The solar project is set to be completed in December 2012.

Canadian Solar, the project owner is responsible for overall project delivery and will supply modules to Mortenson Construction, which will complete the design and engineering services, as well as the installation of the equipment. Developed by Charlotte, NC-based Birdseye Renewable Energy, the PV solar system will be located on a 10-acre site and is expected to generate approximately 3,483 MWh of clean electricity annually, enough to power 300 homes.

"The Laurinburg Solar Farm marks an important milestone for Canadian Solar in the United States," noted Noah Eckert, director of commercial and utility-scale markets, Canadian Solar. "Canadian Solar's goal is to support our customers and partners to bring utility-scale projects to completion. In that vein, we selected Mortenson Construction, a well-regarded and experienced construction firm focused on delivering the highest quality service, to design and build the project."

"It's great to partner with a globally respected company like Canadian Solar because we know we will be working with top quality products," said Mark Donahue, a general manager and vice president of Mortenson Renewable Energy Groups. "It's fulfilling to be working in Laurinburg once again, and we're excited to help North Carolina continue its progression towards becoming a solar power leader in the Southeast."

Canadian Solar is focused on delivering the best value in solar with recognized high-performance modules and backstop warranty. Having already established itself as one of the largest solar module suppliers to the U.S. market, Canadian Solar believes that its expansion into project development provides an opportunity for continued growth and the ability to create jobs at a time when many other solar companies are being forced to cut back. As Canadian Solar continues to expand its project pipeline, the company estimates that its project solutions revenue will make up 25 percent of its total revenue in 2012, compared to approximately 10 percent in 2011.

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest solar companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of ingot, wafer, solar cell, solar module and other solar applications, Canadian Solar designs, manufactures and delivers solar products and solar system solutions for on-grid and off-grid use to customers worldwide. With operations in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar solutions to support global, sustainable development. For more information, please visit www.canadiansolar.com.

About Mortenson Construction 

Founded in 1954, Mortenson Construction is a U.S.-based, privately-held construction company. Ranked as the 19^th largest contractor in America, according to Engineering News-Record, Mortenson provides a complete range of services, including planning, program management, preconstruction, general contracting, construction management, design-build, and turn-key
development. Mortenson has offices in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Seattle with international operations in Canada and China.

As a leading renewable energy contractor, Mortenson has constructed more than 130 wind and solar projects generating over 13,000 megawatts of clean renewable energy across the United States and Canada. With 100 percent of Mortenson's business in the power sector coming from renewable energy, Engineering News-Record ranked Mortenson the 11th largest power contractor in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mortenson.com.

About Birdseye Renewable Energy

Birdseye Renewable Energy is a leading developer of large commercial and utility scale solar projects in North Carolina and the Southeastern US.  Birdseye relies on its partnerships with leading financiers, investors, contractors and local stakeholders to build successful solar assets. Based in Charlotte, NC, Birdseye Renewable Energy, LLC was founded by Brian C. Bednar in 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.birdseyeenergy.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 the previously disclosed SEC investigation as well as 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; 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 27, 2012. 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.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.