Robben Island, the Prison Where Nelson Mandela was Jailed for 18 Years, has Installed a Solar Power System With Canadian Solar Modules

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Oct 23, 2017, 05:00 ET

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is the proud supplier of 666.4 kW of solar PV modules for the iconic solar project on Robben Island, near Cape Town in South Africa. Robben Island is a high-security prison where Nelson Mandela was jailed for 18 years. It is now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This microgrid solar project has been designed and constructed by SOLA Future Energy, the EPC partner of the Department of Tourism, using CS6U- 340M Canadian Solar modules. The official solar system inauguration took place on Robben Island on October 19^th, 2017. Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman, President and CEO Canadian Solar Inc. was invited as guest of honor by SOLA Future Energy and the Department of Tourism of South Africa.

The solar PV farm consists of 1960 Canadian Solar (CS6U-340M) high-efficiency modules with a total of 666.4 kW power supply. Robben Island uses almost 2 million kWh of electricity annually. This solar system will produce almost 1 million kWh of electricity annually, significantly reducing cost of diesel and its transportation cost to the island.

"The microgrid on Robben Island is the largest combined solar and lithium-ion storage microgrid system in South Africa," said Dom Wills, CEO of SOLA Future Energy, who were responsible for the design and construction of the project. "For Robben Island, we have chosen our partners carefully as we wanted to ensure highest quality, safety and sustainability. For this very reason, Canadian Solar as a module supplier, was the natural fit, making a difference in lighting up Africa and Robben Island together. With this PV installation, a reduction of the Island's carbon emission by at least 820 tons can be achieved."

"It is my great honor to have been invited to the opening of the Robben Island Solar Park, as this island is closely linked to the history of South Africa and Nelson Mandela and his vision for a better future. Canadian Solar would like to take our share in the promotion of solar energy and to pave the way forward to a greener and more sustainable future in Africa." commented Dr. Shawn Qu.

About Robben Island:

Youtube Video: https://youtu.be/c-ULxbjDnuA

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 a provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. In the past 16 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 22 GW of premium quality modules to over 100 countries around the world. Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publically listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit www.canadiansolar.com.

Canadian Solar's Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release regarding the Company's expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, business prospects and future results, 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; cancelation of utility-scale feed-in-tariff contracts in Japan; continued success in technological innovations; litigation; and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 27, 2017. 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.