Canadian Solar Inc.

Dr. Shawn Qu founded Canadian Solar in 2001 in Guelph, Ontario. In November 2006, the company went public ( Nasdaq: CSIQ ), trading at $15 per share. The company acquired the solar developer Recurrent Energy from Sharp Corporation for approximately $265 million in 2015.

In October 2017, Canadian Solar listed the Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund Inc. (CFSI) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The fund’s initial public offering (IPO) of 177,800 investment units was priced at JPY 100,000 (US $879) per unit. The proceeds supported the acquisition of 13 solar power facilities with a combined capacity of 72.7 MWp from Canadian Solar subsidiaries in Japan.

In 2021, the firm relocated Recurrent Energy, its subsidiary that develops, owns, and operates solar and energy storage projects globally, to Austin, Texas.

In September 2022, Canadian Solar launched a residential energy storage solution, the EP Cube. Up to six units can be connected to deliver up to 119.9 kWh of energy storage and 45.6 kW output for home use.

In June 2023, Canadian Solar announced plans to construct its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Mesquite, Texas. The $250 million plant, which will employ up to 1,500 people, is designed to assemble 20,000 solar panels a day, totaling 5 GW of annual production capacity. In March 2024, Canadian Solar agreed to supply Sol Systems with solar modules from the finished factory. The company’s other manufacturing centers are in Asia and Canada.

In June 2023, CSI Solar, the solar manufacturing subsidiary of Canadian Solar, completed an IPO and began trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Shares in the IPO were listed at RMB 11.10 (US $1.55) each, with total closing revenue of approximately RMB 6 billion (US $840 million).

In July 2023, the firm's utility-scale battery energy storage subsidiary was rebranded from CSI Energy Storage to e-STORAGE. The subsidiary’s two automated factories supply battery energy storage solutions to the US, Canada, the UK, and China.

In November 2024, Canadian Solar announced plans to construct a $712 million battery plant in Shelbyville, Kentucky. The largest economic development project in Shelby County history, the Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing plant will build utility-scale batteries that utilities and project developers will use for energy storage. Located about 30 miles from downtown Louisville, the one-million-square-foot project will initially have a capacity of 3 GWh, with a second phase expected to double production capacity. Limited production is scheduled to begin in 2025, with full-scale production expected in early 2026. [ needs update ]

Canadian Solar participates in the United Nations Global Compact and CDP Climate Change Disclosure as of 2023. Released in 2024, Canadian Solar’s 2023 Corporate Sustainability Report cited ongoing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy, water, and waste intensities.

Controversies

In 2021, the Human Rights Foundation criticized Canadian Solar after The Globe and Mail reported that the company operated a solar farm in Xinjiang, China, near a Uyghur internment camp. The Guelph Mercury Tribune later reported a second solar farm in Xinjiang with ties to a supplier of Canadian Solar. The Globe also reported a 2019 agreement between Canadian Solar and polysilicon manufacturer GCL-Poly, a company whose Xinjiang subsidiary had ties to forced labor. In 2021, Canadian Solar denied any connection to forced labor in its operations or supply chain and was working with polysilicon suppliers to establish auditing processes. Asked about the firm at a press conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the government would "follow up with... all companies that have investments in that area, to ensure they are following Canadian values and Canadian law." Later that year, Canadian Solar sold both of its Xinjiang solar power plants to a consortium of Chinese banks and investment groups and no longer has any Xinjiang locations, The Mercury Tribune reported. In August 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce ruled that Canadian Solar had circumvented tariffs on Chinese-made goods.