Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar"), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that its subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., entered into an agreement with a fund managed by BlackRock ("BlackRock"), whereby BlackRock will acquire from Canadian Solar the Westbrook 10MW AC utility-scale solar power plant in Kingston, Ontario at a valuation comparable to other recent project sales completed by Canadian Solar on a per megawatt basis in the Ontario market.
This follows BlackRock's acquisition on September 30, 2013 of the Demorestville and Taylor Kidd utility-scale solar power plants, totaling 20MW (AC), and located in Demorestville and Odessa, Ontario, Canada, respectively.
The construction of the Westbrook solar plant is already underway, with commercial operation expected in the second quarter of 2014. Canadian Solar is providing turnkey engineering, procurement and construction ("EPC") services to complete the project and will provide operations and maintenance ("O&M") services after completion.
"We are very pleased to expand our partnership with BlackRock," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar Inc. "This latest transaction is important on multiple levels. It underscores the quality of our project pipeline, our strengths as a partner, and our successful track-record of delivering value to our clients. Canadian Solar continues to differentiate itself from other companies with our robust project pipeline, proven track record in project development and execution around the world. As we look to the future, we remain well positioned with a strong, bankable and global brand, a high-quality backlog of late stage projects and an active feeder flow of attractive new opportunities worldwide."
"We're very pleased to announce the purchase of this additional solar project in the Province of Ontario. Canadian Solar continues to demonstrate their focus on the development of high quality assets, and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with them further," said Jim Barry, Managing Director and head of BlackRock Infrastructure Investment Group.
The Westbrook utility-scale solar power plant is expected to include 47,160 Canadian Solar CS6X modules, which offer high quality, durability, performance and value. In addition this solar power plant will power approximately 1,650 homes, and will provide emissions free energy to Ontarians over their 20-year operational period under the Ontario Power Authority Feed-in-Tariff contract.
About Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ)
Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading vertically integrated provider of solar modules, specialized solar products and solar power plants with operations in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia, Canadian Solar has delivered more than 6GW of premium quality solar modules to customers in over 70 countries. Canadian Solar is committed to improve the environment and dedicated to provide advanced solar energy products, solutions and services to enable sustainable development around the world. For more information, please visit www.canadiansolar.com.
About BlackRock Inc.
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2013, BlackRock's AUM was $4.324 trillion. BlackRock helps clients meet their goals and overcome challenges with a range of products that include separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares(R) (exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions(R). Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2013, the firm had approximately 11,400 employees in more than 30 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.
Source: http://www.canadiansolar.com