Canadian Solar's Subsidiary CSI Solar Executes on Capacity Additions Across Its Solar Supply Chain

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Canadian Solar's subsidiary, CSI Solar, has entered into an investment agreement with the municipal government of Hohhot, China. The agreement includes a capacity expansion plan for the production of ingot, crucible, wafer, cell, module, and ancillary products. The investment is expected to cost around RMB11.5 billion (approximately US$1.6 billion) and production is set to begin in 2024.

GUELPH, ON, July 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company" or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), today announced that its majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar Co., Ltd. ("CSI Solar") has entered into a multi-year investment agreement with the municipal government of Hohhot, in Inner Mongolia, China, to invest and execute on its previously announced capacity expansion and vertical integration plans. 

The initial phase of the investment includes 20 GW of ingot, 40 GW of crucible, 10 GW of wafer, 10 GW of cell, 5 GW of module and 5 GW of ancillary products manufacturing capacities. The ingot capacity is expected to commence production in March 2024, and the remaining capacities are expected to start production in the second half of 2024. Total capital expenditures for the initial phase of this investment is expected to be around RMB11.5 billion (approximately US$1.6 billion), most of which will occur in 2024. 

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, commented, "We are building new solar manufacturing capacity with cutting-edge technologies to meet the strong demand from our customers. Inner Mongolia has plenty of wind and solar resources and the local renewable energy penetration is increasing steadily, helping us reduce the carbon footprint of our supply chain. In addition, Inner Mongolia has abundant supply of power, polysilicon, and quartzite. By further increasing the level of vertical integration throughout our manufacturing processes, we gain greater control over technology, cost, and supply chain and build on our long-term competitive advantage." 

In addition, Canadian Solar's previously announced polysilicon investment in Qinghai, China, has not launched as planned due to changes related to local power supply. All investment projects are subject to change at the Company's discretion based on market and strategic considerations. 

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of development. Over the past 22 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered around 94 GW of premium-quality, solar photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Likewise, since entering the project development business in 2010, Canadian Solar has developed, built and connected over 8.8 GWp in over 20 countries across the world. Currently, the Company has approximately 609 MWp of projects in operation, 6.9 GWp of projects under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 17.7 GWp of projects in advanced and early-stage pipeline. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar and renewable energy industry, having been publicly listed on the 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, regulatory and economic conditions and the state of the solar and battery storage market and industry; geopolitical tensions and conflicts, including impasses, sanctions and export controls; volatility, uncertainty, delays and disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; supply chain disruptions; 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., China, Brazil and Europe; changes in effective tax rates; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; changes in corporate responsibility, especially environmental, social and governance ("ESG") requirements; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in or failure to timely adjust 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; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features that customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange and inflation rate fluctuations; uncertainties related to the CSI Solar carve-out listing; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 18, 2023. 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.

Canadian Solar Inc. Contacts

Isabel Zhang
Investor Relations
Canadian Solar Inc.
investor@canadiansolar.com

David Pasquale
Global IR Partners
914-337-8801
csiq@globalirpartners.com

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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.