Canadian Solar, SkyPower announce 18.5MW engineering, procurement and construction agreement for solar projects

KITCHENER and TORONTO, CANADA: Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world's largest solar companies, and SkyPower Ltd, one of Canada's largest owners and developers of solar energy projects, have signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement.

As part of the agreement, Canadian Solar Solutions, through SkyPower's power purchase agreements, will commission two solar parks with a nameplate capacity of 18.5 megawatts (MW) in Ontario. SkyPower recently closed financing on these projects with Deutsche Bank.

The agreement will result in the creation of new green energy jobs and will further accelerate Canadian Solar's EPC turn-key business in Ontario. The first project is a 10.5 MW solar park in Napanee, home to First Light I, SkyPower's first solar project and Canada's first fully operational solar park. The second project is an 8.5 MW solar park located in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

"A new study called Solar Vision 2025, issued by the Canadian Solar Industry Association and prepared by consultants Ernst & Young, reports the cost of solar power projects will be cut by more than 50% before 2025, making the solar electricity competitive with electricity generated by oil, gas, hydro or nuclear plants," said Dr. Shawn Qu, CEO and president of Canadian Solar.

"The report illustrates that solar power is already price-competitive with other sources at peak times. Agreements like the one announced today with SkyPower are very important. By partnering and also working closely together with the political leaders and other stakeholders in the province, we can help make the predictions in the study a reality."

The construction of both projects is expected to reach completion by mid-2011. Together, they are expected to generate approximately 19 million KWh in their first full year of operation and almost 400 million kWh total over the next 20 years. This is equivalent to producing enough electricity to power almost 33,000 homes and a CO2 offset of removing almost 60,000 cars off the road over the initial 20 years of the project.

"This agreement with Canadian Solar is an important milestone for both our companies and a direct result of the Province of Ontario's efforts to create a world-leading market for renewable power," said Kerry Adler, president and CEO of SkyPower.

"Agreements such as these are expected to create hundreds of new green energy jobs for Ontarians enhancing the solar industry's positive direction for a more sustainable environment for future generations."

SkyPower's projects will be composed of 47, 710 CS6P high efficiency polycrystalline modules and 36, 972 CS6P high efficiency monocrystalline respectively.