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Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Arm Bags $70M for 152MW Solar Firm

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Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ - Free Report) recently announced that its subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, has secured approximately $70 million worth of non-recourse project financing for its Jaiba III solar project in Brazil.

The financing has been offered by Banco do Nordeste do Brasil S.A. for a 22-year period, covering both construction and operation phases.

Details of the Project

The Jaiba III project, with a generation capacity of 152 megawatt-peak (MWp), is currently under construction and expected to be in operation in the fourth quarter of 2024. The project will be powered with Canadian Solar's high efficiency BiHiKu modules and will displace approximately 150,000 tons of annual carbon dioxide.

The Jaiba III is under a 15-year, inflation-adjusted power purchase agreement with Usiminas, the leading flat steel company in Brazil.

Canadian Solar’s Prospects in Brazil Solar Market

A rapid adoption of renewable energy sources, particularly solar, is being witnessed globally. With Brazil emerging as a shining star in the global solar space, particularly in Latin America, in recent years, Canadian Solar has been making significant efforts to expand its footprint in this nation.

Evidently, Canadian Solar’s revenues from Latin America represented a total of 13% during 2023. The solar development project pipeline in this region was 5,092 MWp as of Jan 31, 2024. In fourth-quarter 2023, Brazil was ranked as the third highest market for CSIQ’s solar modules and solar system kits.

Further, Recurrent Energy currently has two operational solar projects in Brazil, the 83 MWp Guimarania Solar and 399 MWp Pirapora Solar. The 724 MWp Raios solar project is currently under construction. In November 2023, Recurrent Energy secured $100 million in financing for its 300-megawatt Ciranda Solar Power Cluster in Brazil.

Such developments, including the latest financing securement, should enable Canadian Solar to further penetrate the Brazilian solar market. Per a report by Statista firm, electricity generation in Brazil’s solar energy market is expected to amount to 6.37 billion kilowatt-hours  in 2024, at a CAGR of 2.71% during 2024-2028 (as estimated by the Mordor Intelligence firm). This should encourage CSIQ to construct more projects in this nation, like Jaiba III. 

Peer Moves

Apart from Canadian Solar, other solar companies that are making moves to enjoy the perks of the expanding Brazilian solar market have been discussed below.

JinkoSolar Holdings (JKS - Free Report) : In September 2023, JinkoSolar showcased its latest energy solutions innovations at Intersolar South America, Brazil. This included the Tiger Neo 66 Cell and 78 Cell Bifacial from the R Series, which can reach up to 635 watts (W) of power. For the first time in Latin America, JKS displayed the 1:3. SUNTERA storage solution, with a 3,44MWh rated capacity.

JKS boasts a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 89.84%. The company’s share price has surged 19.6% in the past five years.

SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG - Free Report) : In July 2023, SolarEdge launched its residential energy management system, SolarEdge Home, in Brazil. The SolarEdge Home solution will enable homeowners in Brazil to increase energy savings and sufficiency by optimizing the production, consumption and storage of solar energy.

SEDG has a long-term (three-to-five-years) earnings growth rate of 14.8%. SEDG’s share price has surged 40.4% in the past five years.

Enphase Energy (ENPH - Free Report) : In November 2023, Enphase started shipping its IQ8P Microinverters, with peak output AC power of 480 W, in Brazil to support newer, high-powered solar modules. The company’s Solargraf, a cloud-based design and proposal software platform, is also available in Brazil.

ENPH has a long-term earnings growth rate of 17.3%. The share price has jumped 2.7% in the past month.

Price Performance

Over the past year, shares of CSIQ have lost 62.7% compared with the industry’s 53.6% decline.

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Zacks Rank

Canadian Solar currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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