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Canadian Solar Inc. is a publicly traded company that manufactures
solar PV modules and runs large scale solar projects.
History
Founded in 2001 in
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Well ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
by Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) has subsidiaries in over 24 countries on 6 continents.
They manufacture solar PV modules, are involved in supporting the installation of
solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an ...
, and are involved in a number utility-scale power projects. With the company's acquisition of Recurrent Energy, Canadian Solar's total project pipeline reached 20.4 GW, including an increase in the late-stage project pipeline to 2.4 GW.
In November 2006, the company
went public
Going public may refer to:
* Initial public offering, financial action by a business
* Whistleblowing, exposure of previously private information
* ''Going Public'' (Newsboys album), 1994
* ''Going Public'' (Bruce Johnston album), 1977
{{Dis ...
() at $15 per share.
Including two manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Canadian Solar employs nearly 9,000 workers worldwide. This translates to more than 16 GW of panel shipments, or approximately 70 million PV modules, in the past 15 years.
The
Human Rights Foundation
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting and protecting human rights globally, with an emphasis on closed societies. HRF organizes the Oslo Freedom Forum. The Human Rights Foundation was founded i ...
criticized the firm after a 2021 report by ''
The Globe and Mail'' revealed the company operates a solar farm in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
,
China nearby a
Uyghur internment camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
.
The ''
Guelph Mercury Tribune'' later revealed a second solar farm in Xinjiang. In response to a question about the firm at a news conference,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...
said, "We will continue to work very, very closely and follow up with
Dynasty Gold Corp. and GobiMin Inc.">Goldcorp.html" ;"title="anadian Solar Inc., Goldcorp">Dynasty Gold Corp. and GobiMin Inc. and all companies that have investments in that area, to ensure they are following Canadian values and Canadian law." ''The Globe'' further uncovered that in 2019 Canadian Solar signed a major agreement with the Polycrystalline silicon">polysilicon
Polycrystalline silicon, or multicrystalline silicon, also called polysilicon, poly-Si, or mc-Si, is a high purity, polycrystalline form of silicon, used as a raw material by the solar photovoltaic and electronics industry.
Polysilicon is produce ...
manufacturer GCL-Poly, a company whose Xinjiang subsidiary has ties to forced labour.
The ''Mercury Tribune'' reported Canadian Solar sold both of its Xinjiang solar farms in late 2021 to a consortium of various Chinese banks and investment groups.
Manufacturing
Canadian Solar production facilities in Canada, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brazil make ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar PV modules, solar power systems, and other solar products.
The bulk of Canadian Solar's manufacturing facilities are located in Canada and China.
The Ontario plant has a production capacity of over 500 MW per year.
Products
Canadian Solar offers solar modules, solar power systems, off-grid solar home systems and other solar products.
Canadian Solar's global PV project business unit has been in operation for over six years and develops PV projects worldwide, specializing in project development, system design, engineering and financing. In addition, Canadian Solar can handle the deployment of photovoltaic projects systems, ranging a few hundred kilowatts to mega-watts.
Canadian Solar's standard modules are powered by 156 x 156 mm (6 inch) mono-crystalline or poly-crystalline solar cells.
Projects
Below are some of Canadian Solar's projects:
Europe
* 1 MW – Munich, Germany (July 2010)
* 70 MW –
Solarpark Meuro
Solarpark Meuro is a 166 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic power station located in Meuro and Schipkau, Germany. The plant was built on a former lignite mine and is the country's largest solar park. It was named POWER-GEN International solar project of ...
, Meuro, Germany (August 2011)
* 78 MW –
Senftenberg Solarpark
The Senftenberg Solarpark is a photovoltaic power station located on former open-pit mining areas close to the city of Senftenberg, in Eastern Germany
The new states of Germany () are the five re-established states of the former German Demo ...
Senftenberg, Germany (September 2011)
* 70 MW –
Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant
The Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant is a 70 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Northeast Italy, about 17 km west of Rovigo. Construction of the plant was started in March 2010 and was completed in November 2010 at a cost of 276 million ...
, Rovigo, Italy (November 2010)
* 15 MW – Three systems of 5 MW each,
Conwall, UK (September 2011)
* 8 MW –
Villeneuve de Marsan
Villeneuve-de-Marsan (; oc, Vilanava de Marsan) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Landes department
The following is a list of the 327 communes of the ...
, France (April 2012)
North America
* 27 MW – Sunnybrook Health Services, Canada (2009)
* 5 MW – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Georgia, USA (May 2010)
* 148 MW – Ronald McDonald House, San Diego, California, USA (June 2010)
* 5 MW – Keystone Solar Farm, Pennsylvania, USA (October 2012)
* 8.5 MW - Canadian Solar 1 (CS1), Canada (August 2012)
* 10 MW – Brockville 1, Canada (June 2013)
* 9 MW – Brockville 2, Canada (September 2013)
* 10 MW – Silvercreek Solar Park, Canada (January 2014)
* 146.4 MW – Honduras (October 2014)
* 28.4 MW – Los Angeles, California (November 2014)
* 5.86 MW – Massachusetts (July 2014)
* 10 MW – Ontario, Canada (January 2015)
* 100 MW – Ontario, Canada (July 2015)
* 100 MW – Texas Solar Project, Texas (November 2015)
* 100 MW – Kings County, California (August 2016)
* 200 MW – California (September 2016)
* 258 MW – Fresno County, California (September 2016)
* 60 MW – Los Angeles, California (September 2016)
* 5.74 MW – Fowler, California (November 2016)
South America
* 185 MW – Brazil (September 2016)
* 191.5 MW – Brazil (October 2016)
* 114 MW – Brazil (November 2016)
Asia-Pacific
* 30 MW - Near
Tumxuk
TumxukThe official spelling according to , (Beijing, ''SinoMaps Press'' 1997); is a sub-prefecture-level city in the western part of Xinjiang, China. The eastern part of Tumxuk is surrounded by Maralbexi County, Kashgar Prefecture. The smaller ...
, Xinjiang, China (2019)
* 10 MW –
Ninxiahongsibao, China (August 2010)
* 20 MW –
Wulate, Inner Mongolia, China (December 2013)
* 30 MW – Suzhou Golden Sun Projects, China (November 2012)
* 25 MW –
Gajner,
Bikaner
Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division.
Formerly the capital ...
, Rajasthan, India (November 2013)
* 1.3 MW –
Hyogo, pref. Awaji city, Japan (January 2013)
* 5 MW –
Normanton Solar Farm, Australia (December 2015)
* 17.4 MW – Longreach Solar Farm, Australia (September 2016)
* 30 MW – Oakey Solar Farm, Australia (September 2016)
* 30 MW –
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...
, India (October 2016)
*190MW - Suntop Solar Farm - Australia (October 2020)
*146MW - Gunnedah Solar Farm, Australia (October 2020)
Acquisitions
Recurrent Energy: Canadian Solar completed the acquisition of solar developer Recurrent Energy from
Sharp Corporation
is a Japanese multinational corporation that designs and manufactures electronic products, headquartered in Sakai-ku, Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. Since 2016 it has been majority owned by the Taiwan-based Foxconn Group. Sharp employs more tha ...
for approximately $265 million in 2015.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official website
Renewable energy in Canada
Photovoltaics manufacturers
Companies based in Guelph
2001 establishments in Ontario
Energy companies established in 2001
Renewable resource companies established in 2001
Companies listed on the Nasdaq
Canadian brands
Canadian companies established in 2001