Canadian Solar Inc. awarded US$3.5 million funding from ARENA for two solar projects in Australia

Canadian Solar Inc., has been awarded US$3.5 million funding from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for two of its solar power projects, totaling 47MWp in Australia.

The two solar power projects, located in Longreach and Oakey, Queensland, are 17MWp and 30MWp each in size. With the 20-year government-backed Contract for Difference in place, Canadian Solar Inc. plans to start the construction of both projects in Q1 2017 and achieve Commercial Operations Date in January 2018 or earlier.

The 17MWp project at Longreach will be comprised of 54,600 Canadian Solar's new MaxPower2 CS6U-320 (1500V) polycrystalline modules. The expected output for the first year of operation is around 39.0GWh, equivalent to powering approximately 8,500 Queensland homes.

The 30MWp project at Oakey utilizes 93,600 Canadian Solar's new MaxPower2 CS6U-320 (1500V) polycrystalline modules, with the expected output for the first year of operation of around 59.9GWh, equivalent to powering approximately 14,100 homes in Queensland.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar said:

"We are pleased and proud to secure the funding from ARENA to support our solar project business in Australia, where we see the market is growing steadily. By leveraging our strong project development and execution capabilities, and with the support from the local government, we will continue to expand and execute on our quality solar project pipeline inAustralia, so as to make contributions to the adoption of clean solar energy in the country."