Canadian Solar Inc. today announced that it has signed a financing agreement pursuant to which Deutsche Bank has agreed to provide C$139 million (US$139 million) in non-recourse, short-term construction financing to Canadian Solar for the construction of solar power projects in Ontario, Canada. The loans are expected to be repaid with the proceeds of the sale of the respective financed projects.
The loan facility is intended to support the simultaneous construction of five utility-scale solar power plants totaling 49MW AC. Developed by Canadian Solar, the projects are expected to be built and connected through 2012 and 2013. All of the projects have been awarded a 20-year power purchase contract (the "FIT Contract") by the Ontario Power Authority under the Ontario's Feed- In-Tariff Program. As a part of Canadian Solar's turnkey solar solutions, these projects will be acquired by TransCanada Corporation in accordance with the sales agreement announced in December of 2011.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, said, "We have systematically grown Canadian Solar's project pipeline and total solutions business over the past few years by leveraging our global brand, established project infrastructure and excellent support services. Having, a strong and equally committed financial partner, will allow us to further accelerate development of our already robust project pipeline. Our current and prospective project partners will now have even higher confidence in working with Canadian Solar as we continue to successfully execute on our growth strategy."
