Canadian Solar Secures 225.2 Million Brazilian Reais Financing for Lavras Project in Brazil

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Feb 10, 2020, 07:00 ET

GUELPH, Ontario, Feb. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced it has secured 225.2 million Brazilian reais (US$ 55 million) non-recourse project financing from Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A. (BNB) for its Lavras solar power projects. Since the beginning of 2019, Canadian Solar has secured BRL 1,007 million (US$ 247 million) solar project financing with BNB.

The 152.4 MWp Lavras project will be funded over 21 years across the construction and operation phases of the projects. The inflation-linked debt tied to the National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) will provide improved capital and resource alignment with the Brazilian economy.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar commented, "We are delighted to close our fifth consecutive project financing with BNB. Sustainable public sector commitment for clean and affordable solar energy infrastructure has transformed Brazil to be the fastest growing renewable energy market in Latin America. As a leader in financing infrastructure projects, BNB's continuing participation in our solar portfolio promotes confidence in the long-term potential of Brazil's renewable energy sector."

The funding from BNB across multiple projects will support Canadian Solar's plan to build one of the largest high efficiency bifacial solar power plants in Latin America. These projects will be powered by Canadian Solar high efficiency modules, including the BiHiKu modules.

Canadian Solar won the Lavras solar project in Brazil's A-4 federal auction in April 2018 with 20-year, inflation-adjusted PPAs awarded at a base price of 118 Brazilian reais/MWh (approximately US$29/MWh) with the Brazilian Electric Power Commercialization Chamber (CCEE). The project is expected to start construction in the second quarter of 2020 and reach commercial operation in 2021.

Lavras is part of a 482.6 MWp portfolio whose 80% interest was sold to Nebras Power Investment B.V., a Dutch affiliate of Nebras Q.P.S.C ("Nebras"). Lavras' transfer of shares to Nebras closed in August 2019.

About Canadian Solar Inc.

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 19 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 38 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.

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.