GUELPH, Ontario, Jan. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced the company has shipped accumulatively 2.6 GW of high efficiency anti-LeTID PERC solar modules worldwide as of December 31^st, 2018. This represents a significant milestone in Canadian Solar's continuous efforts in developing and delivering high efficiency and high quality solar modules.

Solar modules with Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) technology can significantly improve the module efficiency compared to standard modules with aluminum back surface field (Al BSF) cells, which significantly reduces solar system's Balance of System (BOS) costs. In addition, PERC modules exhibit lower temperature coefficient and lower operation temperature over Al BSF modules, therefore further improving energy yield of solar systems. As a result, end users can enjoy lower levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and higher return on investment (ROI).

LeTID, or Light and elevated Temperature Induced Degradation, in PERC modules is a phenomenon exhibited in both lab tests and field operations. This degradation effect usually happens when module temperature is higher than 50°C and the magnitude of such degradation can reach up to 10% for both multicrystalline and monocrystalline PERC modules. R&D engineers at Canadian Solar developed proprietary LeTID mitigation technologies through many years of intensive research in materials, processes and production equipment. Canadian Solar's PERC modules exhibit excellent LeTID performance as demonstrated in internal lab and third party tests. This made Canadian Solar one of a few solar cell and module manufacturers who have mastered the technology to mitigate and control the LeTID in large scale production process. According to a research report published by University of New South Wales (UNSW) in November 2018, Canadian Solar's P4 module that is based on black silicon and multi-PERC technology showed less than 0.3% degradation in open-circuit voltage (Voc) after 166 hours of light irradiation at 1 Sun and of 75°C testing conditions, the lowest degradation among all multi-PERC modules in the industry tested under the same conditions.  The percentage of Voc degradation reflects the effectiveness of LeTID mitigation.

"Going into 2019, we will soon convert all of our cell capacities into PERC technology. The successful mitigation of LeTID, combined with our gigawatt-scale high efficiency module technologies such as Ku, BiKu, HiKu, HiDM and BiHiKu, further solidifies Canadian Solar's leadership in solar technology and products", commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. 

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 provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also 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 30 GW of premium quality modules to over 150 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.

Canadian Solar's 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.

Canadian Solar Inc. ,Mary Ma, Manager, Investor Relations, investor@canadiansolar.com; David Pasquale, Global IR Partners, +1-914-337-8801, csiq@globalirpartners.com