Canadian Solar Secures 193 MW of BESS Projects in Japan’s Inaugural Long-term Decarbonization Power Source Auction

GUELPH, ON, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ) announced today that it has won three battery energy storage system ("BESS") projects, totaling 193 MW, in Japan's first Long-Term Decarbonization Power Source Auction ("LTDA"). The winners of this auction were announced on April 26, 2024, with the Company securing a 13.3% of the total awarded energy storage projects.

Canadian Solar will enter into Capacity Reserve Agreements ("CRA") with the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators ("OCCTO"). These energy storage projects will provide capacity over a 20-year period, in return for Capacity Reserve Payments to offset fixed storage system costs.

Located in Aomori, Fukushima, and Yamaguchi prefectures respectively, the three projects are expected to commence commercial operations between 2027 to 2028 and will feature the recently launched SolBank 3.0 system from e-STORAGE, a subsidiary CSI Solar Co., Ltd.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, commented, "Our remarkable achievement in Japan's inaugural LTDA underscores our strong position in energy storage market in Japan. Since launching our PV operations in 2009, we have been at the forefront of the industry. Now, we have also established ourselves in the energy storage market. The introduction of our SolBank 3.0 system has been pivotal, providing us with an edge in competitive market. As of January 31, 2024, our project development pipeline in Japan totaled 1.376 GWh and 213 MWp for energy storage and solar respectively. With the LTDA's support and increasing demand from corporate buyers, we anticipate continued growth in Japan. We remain committed to advancing both BESS and PV projects, supporting Japan's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050."

About Canadian Solar Inc.

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 energy storage solutions, and developer of utility-scale solar power and battery energy storage projects with a geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of development. Over the past 22 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 118 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 around 10 GWp of solar power projects and 3.3 GWh of battery energy storage projects across the world. Currently, the Company has approximately 1 GWp of solar power projects in operation, 7.4 GWp of projects under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 19.9 GWp of projects in advanced and early-stage pipeline. In addition, the Company has 600 MWh of battery energy storage projects in operation and a total battery energy storage project development pipeline of approximately 55 GWh, including approximately 3.5 GWh under construction or in backlog, and an additional 51 GWh at advanced and early-stage development. 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; 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 26, 2024. 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. Investor Relations Contact

Wina Huang
Investor Relations
Canadian Solar Inc.
[email protected]

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