GUELPH, Ontario, Canada, January 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today provided an update on its late-stage solar energy project pipeline.
Currently, Canadian Solar's total late-stage solar project pipeline stands at 1.4 GWp, unchanged from 1.4GWp in November of 2014, despite the completion of over 100 MWp of projects in Canada and in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2014. As outlined below, the Company has continued to make progress in expanding its pipeline in several geographies, including Japan, the UK and China.
In Canada, the backlog of owned projects and engineering, procurement and construction ("EPC") contracts that are expected to be completed and recognized into revenue in 2015 currently stands at 275 MWp, including the Glenarm power plant which was sold and will be recognized into revenue in the first quarter of 2015. The projects and EPC contract backlog in Canada alone represent a revenue opportunity in excess of C$900 million for Canadian Solar in fiscal year 2015.
In Japan, the backlog of projects that are expected to be built and connected to the grid over the next 3 years currently stands at 606 MWp. Out of the 606 MWp total late-stage pipeline, approximately 262 MWp have full grid connection approval (Keitou Renkei Shoudakusho), with approximately 100 MWp in construction or near ready to start construction. The Company expects to complete construction and grid connection of approximately 80 MWp in Japan during 2015. Out of the total late-stage pipeline in Japan, two projects totalling approximately 125 MWp in the Tohoku utility area, as discussed in a press release issued on October 6, 2014, are affected by the recent changes in curtailment rules, and the Company is still working with the local utility to evaluate the potential impact of the rule changes on these projects. Meanwhile the Company is evaluating several opportunities to expand its project pipeline in the Japanese market with at least 140 MWp of project acquisitions currently under negotiation.
In China, the backlog of projects that are expected to be built and connected to the grid in 2015 totals 320 MWp. Of the total 320 MWp project backlog in China, 90 MWp started construction in 2014 and approximately 30 MWp have already been connected to the grid. As a result, the Company has approximately 70 MWp of utility-scale power plants and 30 MWp of roof-top solar systems in operation in China. These solar power plants and systems that are in operation, are generating revenue from electricity sales as the Company waits for an appropriate opportunity to monetize these investments.
In addition to the progress Canadian Solar has made in its core utility-scale energy markets, the Company also has projects in late-stage of development in the U.S., Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
"We have made enormous progress since entering the solar energy total solutions business in 2009, with over 400 MWp of solar projects and systems energized and delivered to customers in 2014," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In the background we have also been busy building our team and our expertise, which is evidenced by our ability to grow our pipeline in existing and new markets. We look forward to continuing that progress in 2015 as we build lasting value for our shareholders."
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 has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale solar power projects. In the past 14 years, Canadian Solar has successfully deployed over 8 GW of premium quality modules in over 70 countries around the world. Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable solar companies worldwide, having been publically listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the company, products, and projects, please visit www.canadiansolar.com.
Safe Harbor for 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 the risks regarding general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; risks associated with any acquisition or disposition activities; the successful integration of acquired companies; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of solar grade silicon; demand for solar products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand in our project markets, including Canada, the U.S., Japan and China; changes in customer order patterns; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling price; delays in new product introduction; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; utility-scale project approval process delays; utility-scale project construction delays; utility-scale project cancelation due to failure to obtain all the necessary permits; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; trade protectionism in Europe, the U.S. and India; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 28, 2014. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its 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.
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