Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ), today announced that it has secured a 295 million Brazilian reais (US$80 million) financing from Banco do Nordeste S.A. (“BNB”) for its 114 MWp Salgueiro solar power project in the northeast state of Pernambuco, Brazil. BNB is the largest regional development bank in Latin America.
The 114 MWp Salgueiro solar power project is part of the 478 MWp solar portfolio awarded to Canadian Solar during the past two Brazil A-4 energy auctions in December 2017 and April 2018. The Salgueiro project has a 20-year, inflation-linked power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Brazilian Electric Power Commercialization Chamber (CCEE). Construction is expected to start this year, with the plant entering commercial operations by mid of 2020. The plant will utilize over 286,000 of Canadian Solar’s high efficiency bifacial modules (BiHiKu) that can generate electricity from both sides of the module to benefit from high solar irradiance in Brazil’s northeast region.
The financing package comprises a comprehensive limited-recourse construction and non-recourse operations debt funding over a 20-year tenor based on the concessionary Constitutional Funds Interest Rate (TFC) in Brazil. The Salgueiro project is the second Canadian Solar project to be financed by BNB. The first one is the 366 million Brazilian reais (US$99 million) debt funding for the 115 MWp Pirapora II project in 2018.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar commented, “Salgueiro project is among the first solar projects under the Brazil A-4 2017 auction to secure BNB’s development funding under the Northeast Constitutional Fund (FNE) program. To date, Canadian Solar has in total developed operational and pipeline projects of over 955 MWp under the federal government energy auctions. Brazil has become one of the most important solar development platforms in the southern hemisphere. Together with our business partners, we are pleased to support the expansion of economic resources in Brazil’s northeast region through robust infrastructure investments in renewable energy.”
