Canadian Solar Updates Production Capacity Expansion Plans

• Canadian Solar plans to expand its annual vertically integrated solar production capacity by 2023-end
• It will entail the group's cumulative installed capacity to reach 20 GW ingot, 35 GW wafer and 50 GW for solar cell and module capacity each
• A group subsidiary will establish a project in Jiangsu province's Yangzhou city to expand the capacity in 3 phases, as per initial plans of the group

Anticipating growing demand and to prepare for a tight supply scenario, Canadian Solar has presented an upward revision of its manufacturing targets for 2023-end, now aiming to expand the same cumulatively to 20 GW ingot, 35 GW wafer and 50 GW for solar cell and module capacity each, while also adding a battery system manufacturing capacity in China.

These plans replace its previous plans shared during Q3/2022 financials for 25 GW each for ingot and wafer, 35 GW for cell and 50 GW for modules. At the end of September 2022, its cumulative capacity stood at 14.4 GW, 15.3 GW, 17.3 GW and 31.3 GW, respectively.

"Our capacity additions will further enhance our profitability in an environment of rapidly declining upstream raw material costs, and we are dynamically adjusting our capacity plans to account for a market backdrop with pockets of large supply as well as pockets of tight supply relative to demand," explained Canadian Solar Chairman and CEO, Dr. Shawn Qu. "Importantly, our business plans are designed to strengthen our long-term leadership position and we expect these additions to do just that."

It plans to bring this capacity online through a wholly-owned subsidiary of its majority owned subsidiary CSI Solar Co Ltd in China's Jiangsu province that has signed a multi-year investment agreement with the Municipal Government of Yangzhou City.

The subsidiary plans to add this vertically integrated high efficiency capacity in Yangzhou's clean energy manufacturing industrial park under 3 phases. Phase I will bring about 14 GW wafer and cell capacity whose construction is scheduled to start in H2/2023.

Implementation of phase II and III is subject to change basis market conditions and the company's assessments. It has not shared any specific volume expansion for battery systems. Details about the technology and investments will be shared during the company's next earnings call.

In December 2022, CSI Solar said it will begin mass production of TOPCon modules in Q1/2023 which will start with 182mm and followed by 210mm product range (see Mass Production Plans For Canadian Solar's TOPCon Solar Modules).

Canadian Solar's production expansion plans follow its peers that have also been making similar announcements of late. LONGi recently shared plans to build a new 100 GW monocrystalline silicon wafer project in China's Shaanxi province (see LONGi Announces 100 GW Solar Wafer Project).