Greentech Lead America: Canadian Solar is planning to buy
majority stake in 16 power projects from SkyPower for about $184.7 million.
The acquisition is part of its plan to concentrate on
smaller utility-scale projects.
The 190-200 MW projects will generate more than C$800
million in revenue for Canadian Solar.
Following the acquisition, Canadian Solar will have a
20-year power purchase contract from the Ontario Power Authority.
Canadian Solar already runs manufacturing facilities in
Canada’s most populous province that gives generous subsidies to clean energy.
“The actual project sizes are directly aligned with
our strategy of concentrating on smaller utility scale projects that
individually are less risky to finance and execute on,” said Canadian
Solar Chief Executive Shawn Qu.
The deal supports the company’s goal of generating 40
percent of its revenue from solar power plants and related system solutions
next year, according to a report in Reuters.
Large utility-scale solar projects, which produce power
for the wholesale electricity market, result in better margins than small
roof-top installations. However, as clean-energy financing dries up, companies
are gravitating toward easy-to-fund small projects.
Canadian Solar said construction on the SkyPower projects
are expected to start next year.
The companies will also form a joint venture to build
solar plants in emerging markets. This is expected to start generating revenue
within the next two to three years.