Canadian Solar, a vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers, and PV cells and modules, announced the sale of two solar farms, Suntop and Gunnedah, totaling 345 MW in New South Wales, Australia, to CalEnergy, a subsidiary of Northern Powergrid Holdings Company.
The projects have reached substantial completion and are expected to generate over 700,000 MWh of green electricity annually, which is equivalent to avoiding more than 450,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions annually or taking approximately 100,000 cars off the road each year.
In addition to the sale of these projects, Canadian Solar and CalEnergy also entered into a multi-year development services agreement that provides a framework for the companies to continue to work together to build out Canadian Solar’s growing renewable energy pipeline in Australia.
“We are delighted to work with CalEnergy in Australia to grow their renewable energy portfolio. The sale of these projects in New South Wales paves the way for a strong collaboration between our respective companies. In Australia, we have now brought seven development projects to NTP (notice-to-proceed) and beyond and continue to develop and grow our multi-GW solar and storage pipeline. I look forward to continuing to contribute to Australia’s decarbonization and renewable energy growth ambitions,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.
Recently, Canadian Solar signed an agreement with SPIC Brasil, a power generation company in Brazil, to sell a 70% stake in 738 MW of solar projects in Brazil. The projects Marangatu and Panati-Sitia have an installed capacity of 446 MW and 292 MW and are in Piaui and Ceara, the Northeastern states of Brazil, covering an area of 2,200 hectares.
Last Month, Canadian Solar secured BRL 136 million (~$28 million) non-recourse project financing from Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB) to support the construction and operation of its 79 MW Lavras II solar project in Brazil. The project is expected to reach commercial operation in the second quarter of 2022 and will be powered by Canadian Solar high-efficiency BiHiKu modules.
According to Mercom Capital Group’s Q1 2022 Solar Funding And M&A report, large-scale solar project acquisition activity remained strong, with over 23 GW of solar projects acquired in Q1 2022 compared to 13.1 GW in Q4 2021. Year-over-year, 15 GW were acquired in Q1 2021.
