Canadian Solar Secures Project Financing and Continues to Invest into Solar Energy Development in Italy

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Mar 17, 2020, 07:00 ET

GUELPH, Ontario, March 17, 2020 /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 secured a EUR55 million bilateral Revolving Credit Facility with Intesa Sanpaolo to fund the construction of a 151 MWp portfolio of solar PV projects in Italy, located across different municipalities in Sicily, Apulia and Lazio. The first projects of the portfolio are expected to break ground in Q3 this year.

"Canadian Solar has always been standing in solidarity with our employees, customers and partners around the world. By securing this project construction financing, we are committed to, and will continue to invest in the Italian solar market during this challenging time," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar.

This portfolio of 12 projects will be among Italy's first subsidy-free utility scale solar projects. These projects will be built using Canadian Solar HiKu CS3W-425 modules and its EPC capabilities.

Once operational, these projects are expected to generate approximately 287 GWh of solar power per year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 57,331 people, and contributing to displacing 73,384 tons of CO₂ per year.

Being one of the first financings of this type and size in Italy, it shows Canadian Solar's strong bankability in the global solar market. This strong bankability is built on Canadian Solar's 18 year's track records on its quality product performance, its solar project development experience and its senior management winning strategy and execution.

Canadian Solar hopes to continue working with Intesa Sanpaolo to further strengthen its leadership position in the important Italian renewable energy market and to advance the European Union goal to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

Dr. Shawn Qu continued, "I appreciate Intesa Sanpaolo's trust in Canadian Solar and its support for solar energy development. Italy is an important energy market where subsidy-free solar energy is already competitive with conventional sources. Meanwhile, Italy is expected to be one of the fastest growing solar energy markets in Europe given the size of its economy and abundant solar resources. Canadian Solar is well positioned to play a role in achieving the goal of building a carbon-neutral future."

Canadian Solar has been active in the Italian subsidy-free market since 2018, and has now over 900 MWp of project pipeline under permitting, making it one of leading players in the country. The Company is also growing its pipeline in the other key unsubsidized European markets, namely Spain and the UK, with a portfolio of over 2 GWp under development across Europe.

About Canadian Solar Inc.

Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions and has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. Over the past 18 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 38 GW of premium quality modules to customers in over 150 countries around the world. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on 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 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 from major markets such as Japan, the U.S., India and China; 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; 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 25, 2019. 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.