GUELPH, Ontario, Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, announced today it completed the sale of Gunma Aramaki, a 19 MWp operational solar power plant in the Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan for JPY6.8 billion (approximately US$64 million).
Canadian Solar sold its equity stake in the project to several passive investors in Japan and remains the asset manager and provider of operations and maintenance ("O&M") services under a long-term agreement. Gunma Aramaki reached commercial operation in December 2018 and is powered by Canadian Solar high efficiency modules. The electricity generated is being purchased by Tokyo Electric Power Company at the rate of JPY36 (US$0.35) per kWh for 20 years.
"We have significantly enhanced the value of the Gunma Aramaki power plant over the past two years by acquiring the land for this project, and have meanwhile benefitted from the asset's strong cash generation," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. "Gunma Aramaki's new owners have invested in our previous projects, and we are pleased to continue working with them. As we remain the asset manager and O&M service provider for this project, we will continue to capture a share of the project's value creation through stable and long-term revenue streams, in addition to the profits from the sale."
Dr. Qu added, "For timing reasons, this project was not sold to the Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund, but we remain committed to the growth of the fund. Specifically, CSIF has committed to double its assets under management from approximately JPY50 billion (as of June 30, 2020) to JPY100 billion by 2022, by acquiring projects from the sponsor or third parties. For example, during the third quarter this year, we completed the sales to CSIF of the Hokkaido Ishikari and Miyagi Kejonuma projects of 2.4 MWp and 1.0 MWp, respectively."
After the Gunma Aramaki sale, the Company still has 63 GWp of projects in operation and a strong pipeline of 290 MWp in Japan.
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar power companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions and has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale solar power projects in various stages of development. Over the past 19 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 49 GW of premium-quality, solar photovoltaic modules to customers in over 150 countries. 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; delays in the process of qualifying to list the MSS subsidiary in the PRC; 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 28, 2020. 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.
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