NEW
YORK and GUELPH, ON,
Jan. 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary
of Canadian Solar Inc. ("Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ)
and a global developer and owner of solar and energy storage
assets, announced today that Recurrent Energy B.V. has secured a
$500 million preferred equity
investment commitment, convertible into common equity, from
BlackRock through a fund managed by its Climate Infrastructure
business ("BlackRock"). The $500
million investment will represent 20% of the outstanding
fully diluted shares of Recurrent Energy on an as-converted basis.
Canadian Solar will continue to own the remaining majority shares
of Recurrent Energy after the closing of the investment.
The investment will provide Recurrent Energy with additional
capital to grow its high value project development pipeline while
executing its strategy to transition from a pure developer to a
developer plus long-term owner and operator in select markets
including the U.S. and Europe.
This transition is expected to create a more diversified portfolio
and provide more stable long-term revenue in low-risk currencies
and enable Recurrent Energy to create and retain greater value in
its own project development pipeline.
Recurrent Energy is one of the world's largest and most
geographically diversified utility-scale solar and energy storage
project development platforms, with a strong and established track
record of responsibly originating, developing, financing, and
building around 9 GWp of solar and 3 GWh of battery storage power
plants across six continents since 2009.
As of September 30, 2023,
Recurrent Energy had a global development pipeline of 26 GW in
solar and 55 GWh in storage, of which 13 GW and 12 GWh respectively
are projects with interconnections. Recurrent Energy expects to
have 4 GW of solar and 2 GWh of storage in operation in the U.S.
and Europe by 2026. The perimeter
of the transaction includes the U.S., Canada, Spain, Italy,
the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Germany, South
Africa, Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Australia, South
Korea and Taiwan; and
excludes Canadian Solar's project development business in
Japan and China, and certain assets in Latin America and Taiwan. Closing of the transaction is subject
to regulatory approvals and certain terms and conditions in
accordance with the transaction agreements.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman
and CEO, Canadian Solar, said, "We started our global energy
development business in 2009 and have since strategically grown
Recurrent Energy as Canadian Solar's premier renewable energy
platform, forging a new path in developing, financing and
constructing first-of-their kind solar and energy storage projects.
We are now at an inflection point for renewable energy
growth. The infusion of capital from our partner BlackRock,
who is also Canadian Solar's largest institutional investor, will
provide the resources needed to further scale the Recurrent Energy
platform and meet record clean energy power demand across the
world."
Ismael Guerrero, CEO of
Recurrent Energy, added, "We are delighted to have the support
of BlackRock, one of the largest and most sophisticated renewable
energy investors in the world, as we scale Recurrent Energy in
response to massive global demand for renewable energy and energy
storage solutions. This investment will support our growth and
continued ambition to make a difference by leading the renewable
energy transition across the world. Our mission is to deliver
clean, reliable and affordable power to the world, today and
tomorrow, and this milestone will help us continue to achieve this
goal."
David Giordano, Global Head of
Climate Infrastructure and Chief Investment Officer of Transition
Capital, BlackRock, said, "We are excited to partner on behalf
of our clients with Recurrent Energy. We believe this partnership
will help unlock the full potential of Recurrent Energy's
impressive renewable energy project development platform. Recurrent
Energy is emblematic of our strategy of investing in leading
renewable power generation assets and transition-enabling
infrastructure, and we are pleased to make this first investment
commitment from the fourth vintage of BlackRock's Climate
Infrastructure fund franchise."
Solar energy is the most affordable way to produce electricity
in most places around the world. Between 2022 and 2027, global
solar capacity is projected to almost triple, becoming the largest
source of power capacity in the world, according to the
International Energy Agency. The growth of renewable energy,
especially in the U.S. and Europe,
is also driving demand for energy storage which provides
dispatchable and reliable power to the grid. Wood Mackenzie
projects global cumulative deployments of energy storage to exceed
1,000 GWh between now and 2030.
BofA Securities, Inc. and Banco Santander, S.A. acted as
financial advisors to Canadian Solar.
For more information, please refer to Form 6-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission regarding this investment.
About Recurrent Energy
Recurrent Energy is one of the world's largest and most
geographically diversified utility-scale solar and energy storage
project development, ownership and operations platforms, with an
industry-leading team of in-house energy experts. Recurrent Energy
is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. Additional details are
available at www.recurrentenergy.com.
About Canadian Solar
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar
technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading
manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar
energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of
utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a
geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of
development. Over the past 22 years, Canadian Solar has
successfully delivered over 110 GW of premium-quality, solar
photovoltaic modules to customers across the world. Likewise, since
entering the project development business in 2009, Canadian Solar
has developed, built, and connected around 9.3 GWp of solar power
projects and over 3 GWh of battery storage projects across the
world. Currently, the Company has around 850 MWp of solar power
projects in operation, 8 GWp of projects under construction or in
backlog (late-stage), and an additional 19 GWp of projects in the
advanced and early-stage pipeline. In addition, the Company has a
total battery storage project development pipeline of approximately
55 GWh, including approximately 5 GWh under construction or in
backlog, and an additional 50 GWh at advanced and early-stage
development. Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies
in the solar and renewable energy industry, having been publicly
listed on the NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about
the Company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit
www.canadiansolar.com.
About BlackRock Private Markets
BlackRock's private markets platform serves investors seeking
outperformance in infrastructure, private debt, private equity,
real estate, and multi-alternatives solutions. We strive to bring
our investors the highest quality opportunities by drawing upon our
global footprint, superior execution capabilities, proprietary
technology, and position as a preferred partner. As of December 31, 2023, BlackRock manages US$327 billion in liquid and illiquid alternative
investments and commitments on behalf of clients worldwide.
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, regulatory
and economic conditions and the state of the solar and battery
storage market and industry; geopolitical tensions and conflicts,
including impasses, sanctions and export controls; volatility,
uncertainty, delays and disruptions related to the COVID-19
pandemic; supply chain disruptions; 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., China, Brazil
and Europe; changes in effective
tax rates; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product
mix; changes in corporate responsibility, especially environmental,
social and governance (ESG) requirements; capacity utilization;
level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in or failure
to timely adjust 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 that
customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity
requirements; availability of financing; exchange and inflation
rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 18, 2023. 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.
Canadian Solar Inc. Investor Relations
Contacts
Isabel
Zhang
Investor Relations
Canadian Solar Inc.
investor@canadiansolar.com
Recurrent Energy Media Inquiries
Inés Arrimadas
Recurrent Energy
ines.arrimadas@recurrentenergy.com
Ally Copple
Innovant Public Relations
713-201-8800
Ally@InnovantPR.com
BlackRock
Christopher
Beattie
646-231-8518
christopher.beattie@blackrock.com
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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.