TORONTO, Oct. 9 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. ("the Company", "CSI" or "we") (Nasdaq: CSIQ) today announced that it has signed a sales contract with Systaic AG of Germany. Systaic will purchase 60 MW of regular solar modules for delivery in 2009. Systaic has been a customer of CSI since the beginning of 2008.

To date, CSI's sales contracts in Europe stipulate minimum shipments of approximately 226 MW. These contracts have options for up to an additional 80 MW of purchases for total European sales in the range of 226 - 306 MW out of our planned capacity of 500 - 550 MW. All these contracts were signed in the past month and primarily reflect the demand from large, long-standing customers in Germany. We have also signed sales contracts in Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, and France, and are on track to increase sales in these countries. We are satisfied with the order booking level we achieved so far and predict it to increase significantly once our many on-going discussions with Spanish and Italian customers conclude in the next a couple of months. Our North American and Asian sales are also on track, which the Company will issue separate update later this Fall.

Prices reflect market conditions and are in principle fixed for the first two quarters. Our cost-effective e-Modules are selling at a small discount to the regular high-efficiency polysilicon module. The order books for both products are strong. Our balanced product portfolio provides a wide market coverage that is unique in the solar industry.

Chairman and CEO Shawn Qu remarked: "We are very pleased to announce the extension of our strategic relationship with Systaic. This marks the tenth 2009 sales contract we have signed in the past month. Systaic is a large and well-known systems integrator based in Germany with significant design capabilities and projects throughout Europe."

Shawn Qu continues: "The next-year order booking ratio we achieved in September is the highest in the Company's history. This demonstrates the commitment and the confidence of both CSI and our customers in the PV industry and the solar energy market. We are making rapid progress towards meeting our 2009 sales contract objectives. Similarly our customers are successfully developing and financing viable projects for 2009 in spite of a turbulent environment; this contract is a material milestone towards achieving our goals."

CSI will be exhibiting at Solar Power International 2008 in San Diego from October 14th to October 16th (booth 1939) and will present at the investor conferences sponsored by Piper Jaffrey and Lazard Capital.

About Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: CSIQ)

Founded in 2001, Canadian Solar Inc. (CSI) is a vertically integrated manufacturer of solar cell, solar module and custom-designed solar application products serving customers worldwide. CSI is incorporated in Canada and conducts all of its manufacturing operations in China. Backed by years of experience and knowledge in the solar power market and the silicon industry, CSI has become a major global provider of solar power products for a wide range of applications. For more information, please visit http://www.csisolar.com .

About Systaic AG

Due to the consequent implementation of its strategy, Systaic AG belongs to the fastest growing companies in the sector of renewable energies in Europe. The SYSTAIC group produces and markets Europe-wide a new generation of solar systems that differs significantly from the systems currently available on the market. The product portfolio is enhanced by the offer of comprehensive services. The patent-pending integrated system solutions for buildings are highly flexible regarding their design and are offered together with a yield guarantee for over 24 years.

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements for Canadian Solar

Certain statements in this press release including statements regarding expected future financial and industry growth 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 shortage or availability of the supply 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, including customers of our silicon materials sales; changes in demand from major markets such as Germany; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling price; delays in new product introduction; 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 originally filed on June 3, 2008. 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. You 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.

    For more information, please contact:

    In Toronto, Canada
     Alex Taylor, IR Director
     Canadian Solar Inc.
     Tel:   +1-905-530-2334
     Fax:   +1-905-530-2001
     Email: ir@csisolar.com

    In the U.S.
     John Robertson
     The Ruth Group
     Tel:   +1-646-536-7024
     Email: jrobertson@theruthgroup.com

SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.