Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc.
Public company
Traded as CSIQ (NASDAQ)
Industry Renewable energy, Photovoltaic
Founded 2001
Founder Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO
Headquarters Guelph (Ontario), Canada
Number of locations
 Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa, India, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Korea, Australia, the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong and China
Products Photovoltaic modules, Photovoltaic systems
Revenue $2.96 billion (USD, 2014)
Number of employees
 circa 10,000
Website www.canadiansolar.com

Canadian Solar Inc. is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: CSIQ) that manufactures solar PV modules and photovoltaic solar power systems.

Company history

Canadian Solar exists to make the difference. To customers, colleagues, partners, investors and all whose lives we touch. We are also here to make a positive difference to the environment and society as a whole. We do this by providing exceptional products and services that meet the specific needs of customers, employees, partners and investors.

Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) operates as a global energy provider with successful business subsidiaries in 18 countries on 6 continents. Besides serving as a leading manufacturer of solar PV modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects. With the company’s recent acquisition of Recurrent Energy, Canadian Solar’s total project pipeline is now 8.5 GW, including an increase in the late-stage project pipeline to 2.4 GW. With two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Canadian Solar employs over 7,500 workers worldwide. This translates into more than 9 GW of panel shipments, or 30 million PV modules, in the past 14 years. Together with Recurrent Energy, Canadian Solar is ushering the way into a new era of clean, competitive, mainstream power. [1]

Manufacturing

Canadian Solar production facilities are structured for vertically-integrated manufacturing of ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar PV modules, solar power systems and specialized solar products.

In 2008, Canadian Solar was one of the first module manufacturers to have an onsite ISO/IEC 17025-compliant testing laboratory. The Canadian Solar Photovoltaic Testing Lab was established to ensure compliance with international safety and reliability testing standards for solar panels.

The bulk of Canadian Solar's manufacturing facilities are located in China. In 2011, Canadian Solar also began manufacturing in a plant in Ontario, Canada.[2] The Ontario plant with a production capacity of over 500 MW per year. Canadian Solar passed the OHSAS 18001 international standards for occupational health and safety after auditing by TUV Rheinland in 2012.[3]

Environmental and quality management certifications

Projects

Below are some of Canadian Solar's worldwide project reference:

Europe

North America


APAC

Products & projects

Canadian Solar offers solar modules, solar power systems, off-grid solar home application systems and specialized solar products.

Canadian Solar global PV project business unit has been in operation for over six years and develops PV projects worldwide. The project team of experts specializes in project development, system design, engineering and financing. In addition Canadian Solar can handle the deployment of photovoltaic projects systems, ranging from commercial systems of a few hundred kilowatts to utility-scale projects measured in mega-watts.

Technology

Canadian Solar's standard modules are powered by 125 x 125 mm (5 inch) or 156 x 156 mm (6 inch) high efficiency mono-crystalline or poly-crystalline solar cells. The new Diamond modules used double glass structure to have better reliability and PID free; the innovative four busbar cells deliver higher module wattages and higher reliability.

Performance and reliability

Canadian Solar products adhere to international quality standards, including IEC 61215, IEC 61730, UL1703, KEMCO, CE, JET CQC and MCS.

Canadian Solar modules have achieved the maximum ratings in tests for ammonia (NH3) resistance of solar modules and have also passed IEC 61701 salt mist resistance testing and are highly PID resistant.

Canadian Solar modules rank highly under PVUSA test conditions (PTC).

Canadian Solar modules passed blowing sand test according to IEC 60068-2-68 specifies test methods, to determine the effects of dust and sand suspended in air, on electrotechnical products.

Warranty and insurance

Canadian Solar was one of the first companies[5] in the industry to offer enhanced product and performance warranty backed by an immediately available and non-cancellable insurance policy.

In 2011, Canadian Solar introduced a linear performance guarantee for PV module power output over a 25-year period. Under this policy, Canadian Solar expanded its product warranty covering workmanship and material defects up to 10 years.[6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.canadiansolar.com/about.html
  2. ↑ Solar firm making return to its Canadian roots
  3. ↑ Canadian Solar Achieves OHSAS 18001 Certification, Demonstrates Strong Commitment to the Health and Safety of the Company's Employees .
  4. ↑ "Our Full Members | PV CYCLE". pvcycle.org. 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  5. ↑ Solar Insurers Turn Kingmakers Over Panel Survival Doubts
  6. ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-solar-announces-industry-leading-product-and-performance-warranty-127720183.html

External links