Canadian Solar Secures US$50 Million Long-Term Financing for a 100.1 MWp Solar Power Project in Argentina
GUELPH, Ontario: Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world’s largest solar power companies, today announced it has secured US$50 million in non-recourse project financing for its 100.1 MWp solar power project in Cafayate, Salta Province, Argentina.
The US$50 million non-recourse financing package, arranged by CAF – Development Bank of Latin America, consists of a US$30 million CAF A-loan with a 15-year tenor, a US$15 million parallel loan from the Argentinian Development Bank of Investment and Foreign Trade (BICE) with a 15-year tenor, and a US$5 million parallel loan from the Bank of the City of Buenos Aires (Banco de la Ciudad) with a 10-year tenor.
CAF and Canadian Solar have a financing target of US$75 million, and are seeking an additional US$25 million in senior financing which is expected to close in early 2019.
Canadian Solar’s Cafayate Project is financed under the RenovAR program. The program was launched in 2016 to increase energy from renewables sources to 20% of the national electricity energy consumption by 2025. The program comprises 20-year U.S. dollar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with indexation, fiscal incentives for investment in projects, and a three-level guarantee mechanism, including a World Bank guarantee and the Argentina’s government guarantee through the Trust Fund for Renewable Energy (FODER).
The Cafayate solar project was awarded a U.S. dollar indexed PPA of US$56.28/MWh during the second renewable public tender (RenovAR 1.5).
The solar project is currently under construction and is expected to reach commercial operation in the second quarter of 2019. Approximately 289,800 Canadian Solar’s high efficiency MaxPower CS6U-P 345 W modules will be installed. Once energized, the power plant will generate around 239,696 MWh of electricity per year, which will be sold to CAMMESA, the national wholesale power market administrator and clearinghouse.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar commented, “We are delighted to secure high-quality, long-term financing of up to 15 years which is a testament to the success of the Argentina government and the World Bank in designing a robust RenovAR program. The program is expected to attract US$15 billion in renewable energy investments over the next decade in Argentina. We value our partnership with leading financial institutions across Argentina and Latin America to promote the growth of clean renewable energy in the region.”
About CAF
The mission of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, is to promote sustainable development and regional integration by means of financing projects in the public and private sectors, providing technical cooperation, and other specialized services. Created in 1970, it is made up of 19 countries, 17 Latin American and Caribbean, together with Spainand Portugal, and 13 private banks, it is one of the main sources of multilateral financing and an important generator of knowledge for the region. More information in www.caf.com. CAF, Direction of Strategic Communications, prensa@caf.com. Find us at: Facebook: CAF.America.Latina / Twitter: @AgendaCAF
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar is one of the world’s largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. In the past 17 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 30 GW of premium quality modules to over 150 countries around the world. Furthermore, 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.
Canadian Solar’s 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; 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 26, 2018. 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.
Source: Canadian Solar Inc.
