Papago Storage will be the largest standalone energy storage project in Arizona

GUELPH, Ontario, August 16, 2023 — Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ) announced today that Recurrent Energy, its wholly-owned subsidiary for global project development and power services, secured a 20-year tolling agreement with Arizona Public Service Company (“APS”) for Papago Storage, a 1,200 MWh energy storage project under development in Maricopa County, Arizona. Construction of Papago Storage is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2024 with planned commercial operation in the second quarter of 2025. Once operational, Papago Storage will be the largest standalone energy storage project in Arizona.

The tolling agreement award for Papago Storage comes as Arizona, and states across the U.S., face record electricity demand. The energy storage capacity provided by Papago Storage will complement Arizona’s growing solar energy capacity and will also help the state meet surging electricity demand. 

Recurrent Energy is one of the world’s largest and most geographically diversified utility-scale solar and battery storage platforms, with a track record of delivering 9 GW of solar and 3 GWh of battery storage power plants now in operation across six continents. In 2022, Recurrent Energy brought online 2 GWh of energy storage in the U.S., making it one of the largest energy storage developers in the country.  

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO, Canadian Solar, commented, “This landmark project – Papago Storage – will give Arizonans more renewable energy every day. Recurrent Energy is delighted that Arizona Public Service selected Papago Storage via its rigorous competitive procurement process to support its 1.3 million customers’ growing need for affordable and reliable energy storage, and we look forward to growing our partnerships with APS and other utilities that are adding record amounts of energy storage in their service areas.”

Recurrent Energy began developing Papago Storage in 2016. Following construction, Recurrent Energy will own and operate Papago Storage, as a part of its objective to expand its asset ownership. Once operational, the project will dispatch enough power for approximately 244,000 homes for four hours every day. Canadian Solar’s majority-owned subsidiary, e-STORAGE, will deliver its SolBank battery energy storage system and provide the full integration and commissioning services for Papago Storage.

APS is Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electric company, serving more than 1.3 million commercial and residential customers in 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties. The electric company has committed to serving its customers with 100% clean and carbon-free energy by 2050.

The tolling agreement award for Papago Storage resulted from APS’s All Resource RFP (request for proposal) conducted in May 2022. APS sought 1 to 1.5 GW of resources, including up to 800 MW of renewable energy.

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 storage solutions, and developer of utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of development. Over the past 22 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered around 94 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 8.8 GWp in over 20 countries across the world. Currently, the Company has approximately 609 MWp of projects in operation, 6.9 GWp of projects under construction or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 17.7 GWp of projects in advanced and early-stage pipeline. 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; uncertainties related to the CSI Solar carve-out listing; litigation and other risks as described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 18, 2023. 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.

Canadian Solar Inc. Contacts

Isabel Zhang
Investor Relations
Canadian Solar Inc.
[email protected]

David Pasquale
Global IR Partners
914-337-8801
[email protected]

Recurrent Energy Media Inquiries

Ally Copple
Innovant Public Relations
713-201-8800
[email protected]