Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar"), one of the world's largest solar power companies, announced that its subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., has closed an 18.7 MW AC turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract and operations and maintenance agreement for the construction and operation of two new solar energy farms in Ontario, Canada for Penn Energy Renewables Ltd. The construction will begin in the third quarter of 2012, with the projects expected to be fully operational in the summer of 2013.
"We are committed to developing and operating utility-scale solar PV projects that provide clean, infinitely renewable solar energy to the homes, businesses and schools in the communities that we serve," said Sean McCloskey at Penn Energy Renewables Ltd. "As a developer and long-term investor in solar PV projects, we were impressed with Canadian Solar's full array of offerings, which include modules manufactured in Ontario, EPC services and the provision of long-term operations and maintenance services."
The solar farms are expected to produce enough electricity to power approximately 2,600 homes preventing approximately 432,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over a 20-year period. The installations are anticipated to create more than 100 new jobs during the development and construction phases. These jobs will be in manufacturing, engineering and construction with additional on-going positions created during the operation and maintenance phases.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, commented, "We believe strong companies, like Penn Energy, want to work with Canadian Solar because of our track record, expertise, bankability, photovoltaicpanel reliability, and global brand name. As a result, we have built an impressive portfolio of projects and have a very robust pipeline of attractive projects in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. We believe that we have a strong position in Ontario and each project that we complete builds on our lead as the most experienced and dependable developer in Ontario to take a project from development stage to full operation."
Canadian Solar's modules have been awarded key international certifications attesting to the quality and reliability of its manufacturing processes. Canadian Solar is focused on delivering the best value in solar with their recognized high-performance solar modules that come with an industry leading 10-year product workmanship warranty and a 25-year power output guarantee covered by an investment grade third party insurance policy.