GUELPH, Ontario, Jan. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Photon Energy NV ("Photon Energy") to co-develop five utility-scale solar power projects, with a total capacity of 1.14 GWp in New South Wales, Australia.

Canadian Solar will acquire a 51% shareholding in each of Photon Energy's five project companies in Australia that carry a total of 1.14 GWp of projects. The portfolio of projects includes the 316 MWp project in Gunning which is fully owned by Photon Energy, as well as four projects co-developed by Photon Energy with Polpo Investment, namely the 178 MWp project in Mumbil, the 165 MWp project in Gunnedah, the 286 MWp project in Suntop and the 196 MWp project in Maryvale.

"This transaction represents an exciting moment for the Photon Energy Group with our long-term commitment to the Australian market bearing fruit. This cooperation marks a tangible achievement of the entire team in Australia who have gained the trust of a leading global player in the solar industry such as Canadian Solar," commented Georg Hotar, CEO of Photon Energy NV.

"Canadian Solar is delighted to partner with Photon Energy and bring 1.14 GWp into the Australian market," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, "As a very active developer for solar power plants in Australia, we will continue to strengthen our leading position in the market by partnering with Photon Energy."

ABOUT PHOTON ENERGY

Photon Energy N.V. is a global solar power solutions and services company covering the entire lifecycle of solar power systems. Since its foundation in 2008 Photon Energy has built and commissioned solar power plants across two continents and supplied the technology to many more major commercial projects. Photon Energy's Operate and Maintain division service over 210 MWp worldwide. Photon Energy is headquartered in Amsterdam and has major offices in Europe and Australia. For more information please visit www.photonenergy.com.

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 16 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 25 GW of premium quality modules to over 100 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 Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release regarding the Company's expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, and its ability to receive the required government approvals for the sale of six solar power projects in California, 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 27, 2017. 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.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-solar-to-partner-with-photon-energy-for-co-development-of-114-gwp-solar-projects-in-australia-300589366.html

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.