GUELPH, Ontario and PRETORIA, South Africa, Aug. 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 established a joint venture with ET Energy, a global clean energy developer and operator. Together they will provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") services for two solar power projects totaling 132 MWp in South Africa for BioTherm Energy, an independent African power producer.

The projects, Aggeneys (46 MWp) and Konkoonsies II (86 MWp), are located in northwest South Africa and cover an immense area of 387 hectares. They are Round IV projects of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The two solar power plants are expected to be grid-connected by the end of 2019 and early 2020, respectively. Over 400,000 Canadian Solar's 1500V high voltage modules, CS6U-P, will be installed on single-axis solar tracking systems, with a total of 34 central inverters for the two solar projects. Construction of the projects is expected to start in September 2018.

Dennis She, President and CEO of ET Energy, said, "In partnership with Canadian Solar, BioTherm Energy, and other market leaders in South Africa, we have met all the requirements of the REIPPPP. With our South African subsidiary founded in 2016, and years of experience in project operation and EPC management, ET Energy will offer professional EPC and O&M services to utility scale PV plants in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa."

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, said, "These projects are the first large-scale applications of our products in Africa's high voltage market. We hope to set more benchmarks for the renewable energy market in South Africa with high-quality products, advanced PV technology, and global expertise."

As a signatory to the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, South Africa has long been a leader in the African renewable energy industry. In November 2016, the country released the latest draft of its Integrated Resource Plan, which outlines the country's electricity strategy to 2050. Under the plan, the country seeks to add 18 GW of PV plants over 2021-50. In recent years, the successful implementation of the REIPPPP has ensured that the South African renewable energy sector has adhered to this strategy.

About Canadian Solar

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 has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. In the past 17 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 29 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.

About ET Energy

ET Energy is a global leading clean energy developer and operator. With innovative solar technologies and tailored financial solutions, ET Energy provides professional one-stop solutions across the entire solar power plant lifecycle including development, financing, engineering, procurement, construction, and operations & maintenance. To learn more about ET Energy, please visit http://www.etsolar.com.

Canadian Solar 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 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 26, 2018. 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.

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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.

Investors: Mary Ma, Manager, Investor Relations, Canadian Solar Inc., investor@canadiansolar.com; David Pasquale, Global IR Partners, +1-914-337-8801, csiq@globalirpartners.com; ET Energy, Sonic Qiu, +86 25 8689 8098 ext. 9219 lijun.qiu@etsolar.com / pr@etsolar.com