PSEG Acquires Two Power Plants from Canadian Solar

New solar installations will be nestled within California's famous Shasta Mountains

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Dec 23, 2013, 05:30 ET

SAN RAMON, Calif., Dec. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies and PSEG (NYSE: PEG) today announced that Canadian Solar's subsidiary, CSI Holdco LLC sold two utility-scale solar power plants totaling 4.4 MW DC (3 MW AC) to PSEG subsidiary, PSEG Solar Source. The plants have a 20-year off taking agreement with PG&E.

The solar installations, together now called the PSEG Shasta Solar Farm, are the largest in mountainous Shasta county, built at over 3,300 feet in elevation between iconic Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. The closing occurred on December 16, 2013. Construction started in July of 2013, with commercial operation expected in early 2014. Blue Oak Energy is providing turnkey engineering, procurement and construction ("EPC") services to complete the projects and will provide operations and maintenance ("O&M") services after completion.

The PSEG Shasta Solar Farm is expected to include approximately 14,592 Canadian Solar CS6X modules. The solar farm will power approximately 785 homes. Combined, the two plants will offset nearly 6,289 tons of CO², which is equivalent to taking nearly 1,189 automobiles off the road.

This is the first West Coast project for PSEG Solar Source, which develops, constructs, owns and operates utility scale solar projects. It owns the largest solar facilities in Delaware and Ohio, the second largest in Florida as well as projects in Arizona and New Jersey.

"PSEG is pleased to announce this, our 7^th utility scale solar project," said Diana Drysdale, President of PSEG Solar Source. "We continue to work with best-in-class partners like Canadian Solar to invest in projects that provide emissions-free solar energy that help meet solar and renewable targets across the U.S."

"We are proud to partner with PSEG, a renowned institution, on these showcase utility-scale solar power plants," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar Inc. "As a Tier 1 company, Canadian Solar boasts a low risk, high quality pipeline, with the proven ability to execute to each end buyer's specifications, and the bankability needed to attract strong end buyers. Our fast growing record of solar project successes worldwide, is allowing us to gain added momentum in key markets worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, and Japan, as well as in fast growing emerging markets such as China."

Ignite Solar, a Texas Based PV development company, was the initial developer of the Fall River Mills project.

"Through Ignite Solar's community outreach program we had the opportunity to meet with and get feedback from many of our neighbors and community members. It was an absolute pleasure to work with the Fall River Mills community and we appreciate their support for our project!" said Peter Mathey, President and CEO of Ignite Solar.

Canadian Solar modules are covered by a 10-year warranty on materials and workmanship, along with a 25-year linear power output performance guarantee. In addition, Canadian Solar's product and performance warranty are backed by a third-party insurance policy that is underwritten by investment grade insurance companies, ensuring a safe investment for developers, investors and project owners.

About Canadian Solar

Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of solar modules, specialized solar products and solar power plants with operations in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar has delivered more than 5GW of premium quality solar modules to customers in over 70 countries. Canadian Solar is committed to improve the environment and dedicated to provide advanced solar energy products, solutions and services to enable sustainable development around the world. For more information, please visit www.canadiansolar.com.

About PSEG Solar Source

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of more than $11 billion, and three principal subsidiaries: PSEG Power, PSEG Energy Holdings, and Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G). PSEG Solar Source LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of PSEG Power Ventures. It was formed to develop, construct, own and operate large-scale solar facilities outside of the PSE&G's regulated service area.

Canadian Solar's Safe Harbor/Forward Looking Statement

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 risks regarding 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 the Canadian markets; changes in customer order patterns; capacity utilization; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in 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 26, 2013. 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.

PSEG's Forward Looking Statement

The statements contained in this communication about us and our subsidiaries' future performance, including, without limitation, future revenues, earnings, strategies, prospects, consequences and all other statements that are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although we believe that our expectations are based on information currently available and on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance they will be achieved. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made herein. A discussion of some of these risks and uncertainties is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and available on our website: http://www.pseg.com. These documents address in further detail our business, industry issues and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in this communication. In addition, any forward-looking statements included herein represent our estimates only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements from time to time, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our internal estimates change, unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.