Canadian Solar
| Public company | |
| Traded as | CSIQ (NASDAQ) |
| Industry | Renewable energy, Photovoltaics industry |
| 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 |
Canadian Solar Inc. is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: CSIQ) that manufactures solar PV modules and photovoltaic solar power systems.
Company history
Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) operates as a global energy provider with business subsidiaries in 20 countries on 6 continents. Besides serving as a 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 9 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 12 GW of panel shipments, or 30 million PV modules, in the past 14 years. [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
- ISO 9001, quality management system
- ISO 14001, environment management system
- ISO/TS 16949, automotive standard for PV quality control
- OHSAS 18001, occupational health and safety
- PV CYCLE, full member[4]
Projects
Below are some of Canadian Solar's worldwide project reference:
Europe
- 70 MW – Solarpark Meuro, Meuro, Germany (August 2011)
- 78 MW – Senftenberg Solarpark Senftenberg, Germany (September 2011)
- 70 MW – Rovigo Photovoltaic Power Plant, Rovigo, Italy (November 2010)
- 15 MW – Three systems of 5 MW each, Conwall, UK (September 2011)
- 8 MW – Villeneuve de Marsan, France (April 2012)
- 4.1 MW – Balakli, Bulgaria (June 2012)
North America
- 5 MW – Pennsylvania, USA (October 2012)
- 10 MW – Brockville 1, Canada (June 2013)
- 10 MW – Silvercreek Solar Park, Canada (January 2014)
APAC
- 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, Rajasthan, India (November 2013)
- 1.3 MW – Hyogo, pref. Awaji city, Japan (January 2013)
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
- ↑ http://www.canadiansolar.com/about.html
- ↑ Solar firm making return to its Canadian roots
- ↑ Canadian Solar Achieves OHSAS 18001 Certification, Demonstrates Strong Commitment to the Health and Safety of the Company's Employees .
- ↑ "Our Full Members | PV CYCLE". pvcycle.org. 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- ↑ Solar Insurers Turn Kingmakers Over Panel Survival Doubts
- ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-solar-announces-industry-leading-product-and-performance-warranty-127720183.html