Canadian Solar Awarded Contract Offers for 176 MW (AC) of Distributed Solar Power Projects by Ontario Power Authority via Feed-in Tariff Program

Domestic Content Turnkey Solutions Grant Canadian Solar Largest Solar Energy Allocation

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Apr 13, 2010, 07:00 ET

KITCHENER, Canada, April 13 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced it has been awarded Contract Offers for 176 megawatts (MW) of open field photovoltaic power generation projects under the new Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program that is part of the landmark Green Energy and Green Economy Act. Once final approval is obtained, these projects are expected to be completed in 2011 and 2012. The projects were developed, in partnership, with several leading renewable energy developers in the Ontario market, including 3G Energy Corp., Axio Power Inc., Saturn Power and UC Solar.

Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar said, "As a global company with strong financial backing and close to 700 MW of Canadian Solar modules installed in over 30 countries, we're very excited to have been offered these Contract Offers with our partners under Ontario's progressive FIT Program. The 176 MW of Contract Offers is a good start for Canadian Solar to help fight against climate change in Canada, including the goal of eliminating coal-fired power generation in Ontario by 2014. These projects, which represent 28 percent of the total approvals awarded to date, are also a good first step in Canadian Solar developing a leading market share position in Ontario. The projects that have received Contract Offers, and the ones still awaiting initial approval, are expected to create jobs in the province, including local manufacturing by Canadian Solar and its partners, as well as in engineering, construction, electrical, project development and other related services."

Canadian Solar expects that it will establish a state-of-art module manufacturing facility in Ontario by Q1 2011, which is expected to employ approximately 500 people. Further, the company will continue to supply installed solutions that meet Ontario FIT program content requirements for 2010 and 2011. Once final approval is obtained, the Ontario Power Authority will buy 100 percent of the power and renewable energy credits from the Canadian Solar projects under the FIT program.

Milfred Hammerbacher, President of Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc., said, "I am proud to see the Ontario government investing in the future of the province by helping improve the quality of life for our residents. With the continued leadership of the Ontario government, Canadian Solar Inc. will bring more solar energy to Ontario, our home province."

About Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc. 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 and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar solutions to support global, sustainable development. For more information on Canadian Solar Inc., visit http://www.canadiansolar.com . Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. For more information on Canadian Solar Solutions, visit http://www.canadian-solar.ca .

Safe Harbour/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release including statements 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; 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, including customers of our silicon materials sales; changes in demand from major markets such as Germany and Canada; risks associated with building our new Ontario facility; 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; 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 originally filed on June 8, 2009, as amended by its report on Form 20-F/A filed on October 14, 2009. 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.