"The completion and commercial operation of the additional three solar projects, totaling 6.2MWp, brings our total megawatts of projects in operation in Japan to approximately 21MWp," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Solar Inc., "We remain on track to execute on our plan to deliver more clean solar energy to the Japanese market."

GUELPH, Ontario, Feb. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that it started the commercial operation of three solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Japan, totaling approximately 6.2 MWp. The 6.2 MWp portfolio of projects include the 2.3 MWp Ashikita Solar Power Plant in Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, the 2.2 MWp Minamishimabara Power Plant - East and the 1.7MWp Minamishimabara Plant - West in Minamishimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture.

"The completion and commercial operation of the additional three solar projects, totaling 6.2MWp, brings our total megawatts of projects in operation in Japan to approximately 21MWp," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Solar Inc., "We remain on track to execute on our plan to deliver more clean solar energy to the Japanese market."

The 2.3 MWp Ashikita Solar Power Plant, powered by 9,030 Canadian Solar CS6P-260P modules, achieved commercial operation on December 11, 2015. The electricity generated from this plant, approximately 2,858 MWh annually, will be purchased by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20 year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of ¥40.00 ($0.34) per kWh.

The 2.2 MWp Minamishimabara Power Plant - East, powered by 8,602 Canadian Solar CS6P-260P modules, achieved commercial operation on December 25, 2015. The electricity generated from the plant, approximately 2,750 MWh annually, will be purchased by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20 year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of ¥40.00 yen ($0.34) per kWh.

And finally the 1.7 MWp Minamishimabara Plant - West, powered by 6,509 Canadian Solar CS6P-260P modules, achieved commercial operation on January 29, 2016. This plant is expected to generate approximately 2,073 MWh of clean, solar electricity annually to be purchased by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20 year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of ¥40.00 yen ($0.34) per kWh.

About Canadian Solar
Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and a provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects. In the past 14 years, Canadian Solar has successfully deployed over 12 GW of premium quality modules in over 70 countries around the world. Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publically listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the company, follow Canadian Solar on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or on the website.