NEW
YORK and GUELPH, ON,
June 3,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Recurrent Energy, a
subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ)
and a global developer, owner, and operator of solar and energy
storage assets, announced today the initial closing and funding of
an investment in Recurrent Energy's platform by BlackRock through a
fund managed by its Climate Infrastructure business ("BlackRock").
The initial closing of the transaction, first announced in
January 2024, was contingent on
requisite regulatory approvals and other conditions, which have now
been met.
The initial closing represents the majority of the planned
capital infusion. Once the transaction is fully complete,
BlackRock's $500 million investment
will represent 20% of the outstanding fully diluted shares of
Recurrent Energy on an as-converted basis. Canadian Solar will
continue to own the remaining majority shares of Recurrent
Energy.
This milestone enables Recurrent Energy to advance investment in
its high value project development portfolio, supporting its
strategic transition from a pure developer to a developer plus
long-term owner and operator in select markets including the U.S.
and Europe. This transition will
allow Recurrent Energy to generate more stable long-term revenue in
low-risk currencies and capture greater value from its diversified
global project development pipeline.
Recurrent Energy is one of the world's largest clean energy
project development platforms with a strong and established track
record, having developed, built, and connected over 10 GWp of solar
power projects and 3.3 GWh of battery energy storage projects on
six continents since 2009.
As of March 31, 2024, Recurrent
Energy had a global project development pipeline of 26 GW in solar
and 56 GWh in storage, of which 11 GW and 15 GWh respectively are
projects with interconnections. Recurrent Energy expects to have 4
GW of solar and 2 GWh of storage in operation in the U.S. and
Europe by 2026.
Ismael Guerrero, CEO of
Recurrent Energy, said, "With this financial and strategic
support from BlackRock, Recurrent Energy is well-equipped to
advance our development of key solar and energy storage projects
globally. We value our partnership with BlackRock and appreciate
their commitment to our mission of delivering clean, reliable, and
affordable power to the world, today and tomorrow."
David Giordano, Global Head of
Climate Infrastructure, BlackRock, added, "This investment from
the BlackRock Climate Infrastructure Global Renewable Power Fund IV
positions Recurrent Energy to grow the development, construction,
and management of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage
projects in core, high-growth markets. We look forward to
combining our strengths and expertise to build a leading, global
independent power producer."
For more information, please refer to Form 6-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on January 23, 2024 regarding this investment in
connection with the initial transaction announcement.
About Recurrent Energy
Recurrent Energy is one of the world's largest and most
geographically diversified utility-scale solar and energy storage
project development, ownership and operations platforms, with an
industry-leading team of in-house energy experts. Recurrent Energy
is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. Additional details are
available at www.recurrentenergy.com.
About Canadian Solar
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 23 years, Canadian Solar has
successfully delivered over 125 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 over 10 GWp of solar power
projects and 3.3 GWh of battery energy storage projects across the
world. Currently, the Company has over 1.2 GWp of solar power
projects in operation, 6.5 GWp of projects under construction or in
backlog (late-stage), and an additional 19.8 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 around 56
GWh, including approximately 4.3 GWh under construction or in
backlog, and an additional 51.6 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
Canadian Solar's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on
April 26, 2024. Although Canadian
Solar and Recurrent Energy believe 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 and Recurrent Energy undertake 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.
investor@canadiansolar.com
Recurrent Energy Media Contacts
Inés Arrimadas
Recurrent Energy
comms@recurrentenergy.com
Ally Copple
Innovant
Public Relations
713-201-8800
Ally@InnovantPR.com
BlackRock
Christopher
Beattie
646-231-8518
christopher.beattie@blackrock.com
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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.