Two year, C$24 million investment in the province is expected to result in 500
new direct manufacturing jobs and annual capacity to supply electricity to 60,000 homes
KITCHENER, Canada, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. , a leading vertically integrated provider of solar cells, solar module, custom-designed solar application products and turnkey solutions for the residential, commercial and solar farm markets, today announced that it is commencing the site selection and approvals process to establish a 200 megawatt (MW) module manufacturing facility in Ontario.
Canadian Solar has recently submitted a significant number of FIT applications to Ontario Power Authority and has also received considerable customer interest for "Made in Ontario" solar systems. Canadian Solar expects to make definite decisions about the plant site, cost and ultimate size in Q1 2010.
The new facility is expected to result in 500 new direct manufacturing jobs in Ontario and sufficient capacity to supply electricity to 60,000 homes per year. The estimated cost of the plant will be C$24 million, and once completed, it will be one of the largest solar panel manufacturing facilities in North America, further strengthening Canadian Solar's position as the country's leading, Canadian-owned manufacturer of solar modules. The plant will be completed in stages, with the first phase of operations expected to commence in 2010.
Canadian Solar's manufacturing facility is expected to help drive Ontario's emerging solar industry, which is growing rapidly as a result of the provincial government's recently launched feed-in-tariff (FIT) program. "Our new facility will help expand "green" skilled jobs and investment in Ontario as well as the rest of Canada," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar Inc. "Additionally, with this facility, our leading-edge photovoltaic technology will be manufactured and readily available in Ontario for those who are ready to take advantage of the FIT programs."
Canadian Solar will be exploring federal and provincial programs that can help us build an Ontario based manufacturing facility. "When considering Ontario for our next investment in manufacturing, we looked at the strength of R&D and the governments' commitment to investing in a low carbon economy. We are looking forward to working with government representatives in creating jobs and a viable solar market in Ontario and across Canada," said Milfred Hammerbacher, President of the subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc.
Canadian Solar designs complete, turnkey solution packages for the residential, commercial and solar farm markets in Ontario. The solutions enable the installations to take place rapidly, at a lower cost and at a higher level of quality and reliability. Canadian Solar panels are silicon-based, have a 25-year warranty backed by one of the most reputable brands in the industry. They have been installed and tested amid extreme weather conditions around the world with outstanding results in terms of performance, resistance and reliability. Canadian Solar is compliant with FIT commercial rooftop solar and microFIT 10 kilowatt solar Ontario content requirements.
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Canadian Solar Inc. is 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 systems for on-grid and off-grid use to customers worldwide. Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest solar module producers by manufacturing capacity. With operations in North America, Europe and Asia, Canadian Solar provides premium quality, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solar solutions to support global sustainable development. For more information, visit http://www.canadiansolar.com .
About Canadian Solar Solutions
Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. dedicated to the Canadian solar market. Based in Kitchener, Ontario (Canada), Canadian Solar Solutions is committed to providing turnkey solar solutions for residential, commercial and solar farm customers in Canada. Our experienced, international team offers skills and expertise across all aspects of solar power generation. For more information, please visit http://www.canadian-solar.ca .
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release including statements 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, including customers of our silicon materials sales; changes in demand from major markets such as Germany and Canada; risks associated with building our new Ontario facility; 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 originally filed on June 8, 2009, as amended by its report on Form 20-F/A filed on October 14, 2009. 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.
Canadian Solar Inc.
CONTACT: in Canada: Alex Taylor, IR Director, Canadian Solar Inc.,
+1-519 954 2057, +1-519-954-2597, ir@canadiansolar.com; in the U.S., David
Pasquale, IR, Global IR Partners, +1-914-337-8801, +1-914-470-0243 (fax),
csiq@globalirpartners.com
Web site: http://www.canadiansolar.com/
