Canadian Solar Announces U.S. Module Manufacturing Facility in Mesquite, Texas

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Jun 15, 2023, 07:00 ET

GUELPH, ON, June 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company" or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, today announced that it is establishing a solar PV module production facility in Mesquite, Texas.

Canadian Solar is building a state-of-the-art solar photovoltaic module manufacturing plant with an annual output of 5 GW, equivalent to approximately 20,000 high-power modules per day. The new facility represents an investment of over $250 million and will create approximately 1,500 skilled jobs once it is fully ramped up. Production is expected to begin around the end of 2023. This will be Canadian Solar's first United States manufacturing facility, following its successful track record of production in Canada, China, Brazil, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2021, Canadian Solar relocated Recurrent Energy, its 17-year-old U.S. subsidiary, to Austin, spearheading the rapid growth of renewable energy in the Lone Star State as a solar and battery storage project developer.

"Canadian Solar's new $250 million manufacturing plant in Mesquite will bolster Texas' status as the energy capital of the world and secure our leadership as a global tech hub," said Governor Greg Abbott. "I thank Canadian Solar for choosing Texas for their next U.S. business investment and for creating 1,500 new jobs in the region to help boost the community for generations to come."

United States Senator Ted Cruz expressed his enthusiasm for the project stating, "Texas is an energy production powerhouse, and we embrace an all-of-the-above energy strategy. It's great to see this incredible investment in Mesquite, which will create 1,500 good-paying jobs in Texas. This kind of investment in the Lone Star State is the reason people are flocking to our great state. I will continue to fight for Texas innovators and job creators in the U.S. Senate."

Mesquite Mayor Daniel Aleman, Jr. added, "We are very proud to have a company like Canadian Solar in Mesquite and appreciate their investment in our city. We look forward to a great partnership with them and the impact they will make on our community."

Emphasizing the importance of this new facility, Dr. Shawn Qu, founder and CEO of Canadian Solar, said, "Establishing this factory is a key milestone that will enable us to better serve our U.S. customers with the most advanced technology in the industry. We hope that this is the first of many long-term investments we expect to make in the U.S. as we think strategically about a sustainable and resilient clean energy supply chain. We thank the State of Texas, Dallas County, and the City of Mesquite for their critical support and we look forward to working with them as we grow."

Technology

Canadian Solar is a leader in the development and commercialization of the novel Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology, which will be deployed in the modules produced at the Mesquite facility. TOPCon cells have the highest efficiency in commercial solar PV technology and are highly optimized in bifacial modules, generating energy from both the front and the rear of the solar cell. The deployment of the latest TOPCon technology in the U.S. will help reduce consumers' electricity bills and further contribute towards decarbonizing the energy grid.

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of development. Over the past 22 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered around 94 GW of premium-quality, solar photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Likewise, since entering the project development business in 2010, Canadian Solar has developed, built and connected over 8.8 GWp in over 20 countries across the world. Currently, the Company has approximately 609 MWp of projects in operation, 6.9 GWp of projects under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 17.7 GWp of projects in advanced and early-stage pipeline. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar and renewable energy industry, having been publicly listed on the 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, regulatory and economic conditions and the state of the solar and battery storage market and industry; geopolitical tensions and conflicts, including impasses, sanctions and export controls; volatility, uncertainty, delays and disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; supply chain disruptions; 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., China, Brazil and Europe; changes in effective tax rates; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; changes in corporate responsibility, especially environmental, social and governance ("ESG") requirements; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in or failure to timely adjust 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 that customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange and inflation rate fluctuations; uncertainties related to the CSI Solar carve-out listing; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 18, 2023. 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.

Canadian Solar Inc. Contacts

Isabel Zhang
Investor Relations
Canadian Solar Inc.
[email protected]

David Pasquale
Global IR Partners
914-337-8801
[email protected]

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.