Canadian Solar and TrailStone Sign a 10-year PPA for an Unsubsidized Solar Portfolio in Italy

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Dec 17, 2018, 07:00 ET

GUELPH, Ontario, Dec. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies and TrailStone GmbH ("TrailStone"), a global commodities trader and an investor in strategic commodity assets, today announced they entered into a 10-year power purchase agreement ("PPA") for the electricity produced by a 17.6 MWp solar PV plant portfolio in Sicily, Italy. The portfolio is jointly owned by Canadian Solar (51% stake) and Manni Energy (49% stake), a renewable energy company devoted to engineering, O&M services, and energy efficiency and part of Manni Group, which will also provide turnkey EPC services for the project.

This landmark PPA will cover 100% of the electricity generated and is believed to be the longest-term PPA for a fully unsubsidized solar PV portfolio signed to date in Italy. The PPA provides stable and predictable power sales revenues via a fixed price floor but also higher generation-weighted power prices due to an upside-sharing mechanism. As part of the agreement, TrailStone will also act as market representative for the portfolio on the Italian wholesale market.

The solar PV portfolio is expected to start producing electricity in the second quarter of 2019. The expected production is approximately 34 GWh per annum, equivalent to the annual consumption of 12,000 households in Italy.

TrailStone was advised for the transaction by legal firm Paul Hastings while Canadian Solar was advised by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Mr. Franco Citron, Manni Energy, commented: "It is an honor for us to have contributed in a project which will allow the Italian market to foster the deployment of this renewable energy source, with a benefit for the entire community. The agreement signed by Manni Energy and its valuable partners represents one of the first of this kind in Italy; opening the opportunity to private actors to invest in solar energy with a predictable ROI and at a competitive level of earnings, also in comparison to traditional energy sources. This scheme perfectly matches Manni Group's sustainability goals."

Mr. John Redpath, CEO of TrailStone, commented: "TrailStone's strategy is to manage wind and solar portfolios while offering value added digitalized services such as virtual power plants to small decentralized production units. Providing long term solutions for new renewable developments puts TrailStone at the forefront of the energy transition".

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, commented: "This remarkable milestone marks the start of a new era of subsidy-free solar PV in Italy. Nowadays, solar PV plants can sell electricity at lower prices than conventional power plants. This opens up an unprecedented market independent of government support programs."

About Canadian Solar

Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. In the past 17 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 30 GW of premium quality modules to over 150 countries around the world. Furthermore, 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.

About Manni Energy

Manni Energy is the renewable energy company of Manni Group devoted to engineering, O&M services and energy efficiency. Manni Group, an industrial business in Verona with over 70 years of history, promotes innovation in processing and in using steel in its wide range of applications. For more information, please visit www.mannienergy.com.

About TrailStone.

TrailStone is a global commodities trader and an investor in strategic commodity assets. As a trader, TrailStone uses its capital on a proprietary basis to buy and sell physical commodities, and it leverages its know-how in asset optimisation and logistics, and its access to the physical markets, to trade financial commodities. As an investor, TrailStone uses its industry expertise and private equity backed capital base to invest in and develop strategic commodity assets. For more information, please visit www.trailstonegroup.com.

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.