Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc. is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: CSIQ) that manufactures solar PV modules and provides turn-key solar energy solutions.

Company history

Founded in 2001 in Canada by Dr. Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) operates as a global energy provider with business subsidiaries in over 24 countries on 6 continents.^[1] Besides serving as a manufacturer of solar PV modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects. With the company’s recent acquisition of Recurrent Energy, Canadian Solar’s total project pipeline is now 20.4 GW, including an increase in the late-stage project pipeline to 2.4 GW. Including two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Canadian Solar employs nearly 9,000 workers worldwide. This translates to more than 16 GW of panel shipments, or approximately 70 million PV modules, in the past 15 years.^[2] Together with Recurrent Energy, Canadian Solar is ushering the way into a new era of clean, competitive, mainstream power.

Manufacturing

Canadian Solar production facilities in Canada, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brazil are structured for the manufacturing of ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar PV modules, solar power systems and specialized solar products.

In 2008, Canadian Solar was one of the first module manufacturers to have an onsite ISO/IEC 17025-compliant testing laboratory. The Canadian Solar Photovoltaic Testing Lab was established to ensure compliance with international safety and reliability testing standards for solar panels.^[3]

The bulk of Canadian Solar's manufacturing facilities are located in Canada and China.^[4] The Ontario plant has a production capacity of over 500 MW per year.^[5] Canadian Solar passed the OHSAS 18001 international standards for occupational health and safety after auditing by TÜV Rheinland in 2012.^[6]

Environmental and quality management certifications

• ISO 9001, quality management system
• ISO 14001, environment management system
• ISO/TS 16949, automotive standard for PV quality control
• OHSAS 18001, occupational health and safety

Projects

Below are some of Canadian Solar's worldwide project references:

Europe

• 1 MW – Munich, Germany (July 2010) ^[7]
• 70 MW – Solarpark Meuro, Meuro, Germany (August 2011)
• 78 MW – Senftenberg Solarpark Senftenberg, Germany (September 2011)
• 70 MW – Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant, Rovigo, Italy (November 2010)
• 15 MW – Three systems of 5 MW each, Conwall, UK (September 2011)
• 8 MW – Villeneuve de Marsan, France (April 2012)
• 4.1 MW – Balakli, Bulgaria (June 2012)

North America

• 27 MW – Sunnybrook Health Services, Canada (2009)
• 5 MW – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Georgia, USA (May 2010)
• 148 MW – Ronald McDonald House, San Diego, California, USA (June 2010)
• 5 MW – Keystone Solar Farm, Pennsylvania, USA (October 2012)
• 8.5 MW - Canadian Solar 1 (CS1), Canada (August 2012)
• 10 MW – Brockville 1, Canada (June 2013)
• 9 MW – Brockville 2, Canada (September 2013)
• 10 MW – Silvercreek Solar Park, Canada (January 2014)
• 146.4 MW – Honduras (October 2014) ^[8]
• 28.4 MW – Los Angeles, California (November 2014) ^[9]
• 5.86 MW – Massachusetts (July 2014) ^[10]
• 10 MW – Ontario, Canada (January 2015)
• 100 MW – Ontario, Canada (July 2015) ^[11]
• 100 MW – Texas Solar Project, Texas (November 2015) ^[12]
• 100 MW – Kings County, California (August 2016) ^[13]
• 200 MW – California (September 2016) ^[14]
• 258 MW – Fresno County, California (September 2016) ^[15]
• 60 MW – Los Angeles, California (September 2016) ^[16]
• 5.74 MW – Fowler, California (November 2016) ^[17]

South America

• 185 MW – Brazil (September 2016) ^[18]
• 191.5 MW – Brazil (October 2016) ^[19]
• 114 MW – Brazil (November 2016) ^[20]

APAC

• 1925 MW – 2008 Summer Olympics Beijing Olympic Games Stadium Beijing, China (2008) ^[21]
• 10 MW – Ninxiahongsibao, China (August 2010)
• 20 MW – Wulate, Inner Mongolia, China (December 2013)
• 30 MW – Suzhou Golden Sun Projects, China (November 2012)
• 25 MW – Gajner, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India (November 2013)
• 1.3 MW – Hyogo, pref. Awaji city, Japan (January 2013)
• 47 MW – Longreach and Oake, Australia (September 2016) ^[22]
• 30 MW – Telangana, India (October 2016) ^[23]

Products & projects

Canadian Solar offers solar modules, solar power systems, off-grid solar home application systems and specialized solar products.

Canadian Solar's global PV project business unit has been in operation for over six years and develops PV projects worldwide, specializing in project development, system design, engineering and financing. In addition, Canadian Solar can handle the deployment of photovoltaic projects systems, ranging from commercial systems of a few hundred kilowatts to utility-scale projects measured in mega-watts.

Acquisitions

Recurrent Energy: Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) completed the acquisition of solar developer Recurrent Energy from Sharp Corp for approximately $265 million in 2015.^[24]

Technology

Canadian Solar's standard modules are powered by 156 x 156 mm (6 inch) high efficiency mono-crystalline or poly-crystalline solar cells. Their new Dymond double-glass modules have better reliability and are PID-free; their five bus bar cells deliver higher module wattages and higher reliability.

Performance and reliability

Canadian Solar products adhere to international quality standards, including IEC 61215, IEC 61730, UL 1703, KEMCO, CE, JET CQC and MCS.^[25]

Canadian Solar modules have achieved the maximum ratings in tests for ammonia (NH3) resistance of solar modules and have also passed IEC 61701 salt mist resistance testing^[26] and are highly PID resistant.

Canadian Solar modules rank highly under PVUSA test conditions (PTC).^[27]

Canadian Solar modules passed blowing sand test according to IEC 60068-2-68 to determine the effects of dust and sand on electrotechnical products.

Warranty and insurance

Canadian Solar was one of the first companies^[28] in the industry to offer enhanced product and performance warranty backed by an immediately available and non-cancellable insurance policy.

In 2011, Canadian Solar introduced a linear performance guarantee for PV module power output over a 25-year period. Under this policy, Canadian Solar expanded its product warranty covering workmanship and material defects up to 10 years.^[29]

References

External links

• Official website