The Canadian bred and Chinese led solar manufacturer and project developer announces two new large project sales in the UK and Japan
Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ), announced that it closed two big sales last week:
- December 5th, the sale of the 3.3 MWp Milborne Port project in the United Kingdom to Elm Trading Group, advised by Alpha Real Renewables.
- December 2nd, the sale of a 10.8 MWp operating solar power plant in Izu-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture to Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund, Inc. for JPY4,569 million (US$42.1 million).
The Milborne Port project is located in Somerset, England, and is accredited under the 1.2 Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) subsidy regime. The project was developed, built and operated by Canadian Solar and started commercial operation in March 2017. The solar plant generates an estimated 3.3 GWh of clean electricity annually, enough to power approximately 1,062 households and offset 932 tons of carbon emissions each year.
“We are pleased to partner with Elm Trading Group on the sale of our last subsidized operational asset in the UK. We started developing projects in the UK’s subsidized market in 2015 and have since successfully developed, built, operated and sold projects with a total capacity of 158 MWp.”
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar
“With the cost of solar energy declining and reaching grid parity, we have started to develop a pipeline of unsubsidized projects in the UK and Europe more broadly. The first ones will reach ready-to-build status around mid-2020. We are excited about solar energy’s increasingly competitive prospects and are committed to expanding our presence and supporting the growth of solar markets in Europe.”
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar
In Japan, Canadian Solar’s late-stage portfolio of ready to build, under construction or operational projects stand at approximately 217 MWp with a weighted-average FIT of JPY36.0 (US$0.33)/kWh.
“We are pleased to successfully complete another asset sale to CSIF. We are confident this transaction will enhance CSIF’s existing high-quality portfolio and provide accretive growth in their cash flow and energy production. The size of the listed infrastructure sector in Japan has more than doubled over the last two years, and along with that growth, CSIF has seen an increase in asset valuations.”
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world’s largest and foremost 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 18 years, Canadian Solar has delivered over 38 GW of premium-quality, solar photovoltaic modules to customers in over 150 countries. Canadian Solar has been publicly listed on NASDAQ since 2006.
