Canadian Solar Sets New Benchmarks for Intersolar Europe 2012

ONTARIO, Canada, May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- In time for Intersolar Europe 2012 (Munich, June 13-15, 2012), Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, has set a new record. In-house tests found that its proprietary mono ELPS solar cell efficiency reached 21.1 percent. This is the highest performance reached to date for a P-type mono-crystalline cell. At the Intersolar booth A2.180 visitors will be able to get information about the ELPS cell technology and ELPS modules. Canadian Solar will also present its new CS6A-P solar module for the rooftop market.

Canadian Solar's ELPS cells feature a Metal Wrap Through (MWT) design, which moves the front busbars to the back of the cells allowing 3% more light absorption per cell. As a result, ELPS modules deliver up to 7% more electricity than similar configuration conventional solar modules. The ELPS module is nominated for the Intersolar Award 2012 in photovoltaics category.

At Intersolar Europe 2012, Canadian Solar will also present its new CS6A-P module, which uses 48 pieces of 156mm x 156mm poly-silicon cells. CS6A-P will have power output up to 205W. This product is designed especially for PV roof installations. It can be used for residential, commercial and industrial rooftops. Thanks to the improvements to the poly-crystalline cell technology in the CS6A-P, users will benefit from improved ROI, and faster payback.

Canadian Solar has implemented stringent quality control management system in its module production plants. Throughout its module production process, it has 253 quality control points from incoming material components to manufacturing procedures. The final stage EL screening eliminates product defects. Canadian Solar modules are PID free and salt mist / Ammonia resistant. The low normal operating cell temperature (NOCT) improves its module performance as confirmed by PTC rating in California. To further protect PV system customers, Canadian Solar has been offering 25 year warranty insurance since 2010. The warranty insurance policy is underwritten by three reputable insurance companies with AM Best Rating of "A" VIII and above.

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest solar companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of ingot, wafer, solar cell, solar module and other solar applications, Canadian Solar designs, manufactures and delivers solar products and solar system solutions for on-grid and off-grid use to customers worldwide. With operations in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar solutions to support global, sustainable development. For more information, please 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 the risks regarding the previously disclosed SEC investigation as well as 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 Germany; 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; 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 27, 2012. 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. You 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.