GUELPH, Ontario, June 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that effective June 1, the company has been offering a new upgraded warranty on its polycrystalline photovoltaic modules by guaranteeing a lower first year power output degradation, less than 2.5%. This is in contrast to the industry standard of 3% degradation during the first year.

All Canadian Solar standard modules have a 10-year limited product warranty on material and workmanship.  In addition, the following are the new warranty policies related to power performance:

• For polycrystalline module products, Canadian Solar guarantees the first year power degradation is no more than 2.5% from its nameplate power. From year 2 to year 25, the actual power decline will be no more than 0.7%. By the end of year 25, the actual power output will be no less than 80.7% of the nameplate power output.
• For the Diamond double-glass module, Canadian Solar guarantees the first year power degradation is no more than 2.5% from its nameplate power. From year 2 to year 30, the actual annual power decline will be no more than 0.5%.  By the end of year 30, the actual power output will be no less than 83% of the labeled power output.

In the past 15 years, Canadian Solar has invested heavily into solar cell and module technology research and development. This warranty upgrade is based on internal and external PV system performance test results.

The performance warranty for standard monocrystalline cell modules will continue to be 3% degradation for the first year, and 0.7% power loss from year 2 to year 25. With Czochralski-type (CZ) wafer quality improvement, Canadian Solar will be able to roll out a similar enhanced performance warranty for monocrystalline cell modules in the future.

Dr. Guoqiang Xing, Vice President of Technology of Canadian Solar, commented, "As a major module manufacturer, we are proud to offer the industry's leading warranty on solar panels.  Our ability to provide such a comprehensive and top-notch warranty is a strong indicator of the company's bankability, success, and product reliability."

About Canadian Solar Inc.

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 a provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects. In the past 14 years, Canadian Solar has successfully deployed over 10 GW of premium quality modules in over 70 countries around the world. Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the world, having been publically listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the company, follow Canadian Solar on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or on the website.

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 the risks regarding general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of solar grade silicon; demand for solar products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand in our project markets, including Canada, the U.S., Japan and China; changes in customer order patterns; 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; utility-scale project approval process delays; utility-scale project construction delays; utility-scale project cancelation due to failure to obtain all the necessary permits; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; trade protectionism in Europe, the U.S. and India; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 23, 2015. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in its 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: Ed Job, CFA, Director, Investor Relations, Canadian Solar Inc., investors@canadiansolar.com; David Pasquale, Global IR Partners, +1-914-337-8801, csiq@globalirpartners.com; Media Inquiries: Suzanne Wilson, Marketing, Canada, +1-519-497-9769, Suzanne.Wilson@canadiansolar.com; Audrey Lin, Marketing, United States, +1-888-998-7739, Audrey.Lin@canadiansolar.com