Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Activates Four PV Plants In Japan

Solar module manufacturer, Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) announced that its high-efficiency MaxPower modules are being used to power four solar power plants in Japan. These plants have a combined capacity of 52.5 megawatt-peaks (MWp) of green energy. Three of the power plants namely Yamagata Asahimachi, Shizuoka Tashiro and Saitama Shiroishi plants were connected to the grid in Mar 2017 while Mashiki plant was brought live in Jun 2017.

Details of the Operation

The 47.7 MWp Mashiki plant, which is the largest solar power plant ever built in Japan, is likely to generate nearly 57,000 Megawatt-hour (MWh) of solar electricity per year, at the rate of JPY36.0 (32 cents) per Kilowatt-hour (kWh). The other three plants are expected to produce around 5,429 MWh electricity per year at JPY32.0 (28 cents), JPY36.0 (32 cents) and JPY27.0 (24 cents) respectively.

The electricity generated will be bought by Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20-year feed-in-tariff contract and powered by Canadian Solar's high-efficiency MaxPower modules.

International Solar Projects of Canadian Solar

In June, Canadian Solar announced the divestment of 80% stake in Pirapora II solar energy project to EDF (PA:EDF) EN do Brasil – the Brazilian subsidiary of renewable energy market leader, EDF Energies Nouvelles, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2018. (Read more: Canadian Solar Divests Stake in Brazil's Pirapora II Project)

In April, the company supplied 10 Megawatt (MW) of PV Modules to Soroti Photovoltaic Plant in Uganda. The project is the largest of its kind in East Africa.

Road Ahead of Solar Energy

Canadian Solar caters to a geographically-diverse customer base spread across markets in the U.S., China, U.K., Canada, Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa and Middle East. The company has a significant presence in Japan as well.

Though President Trump is directing his focus toward the augmentation of coal industry, it is evident from projections of U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) release that the use of renewable energy (including solar) is going to increase in the U.S. in next few years. This can be attributed to utility operators’ heavy potential investments in clean energy.

Large economies like China, Japan and India are currently offering a huge market for expansion of solar power with China and India planning to add in excess of 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy to their generation capacity. Further these countries have laid out plans to harness solar energy to generate electricity in larger volumes in the years to come. Per a report from GTM Research, the global solar market will hit 85 GW in 2017, nearly doubling the installed capacity of 2014.

This in turn is encouraging Chinese module producers like JA Solar Holdings (NASDAQ:JASO) , JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS) and Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE:YGE) , to make the most of the opportunity and invest heavily in renewable energy facilities which will be benefiting the solar industry as a whole.

Price Movement

In the last six months, Canadian Solar has outperformed the Zacks categorized Solar industry. The company’s shares increased 34.1%, compared with the industry’s gain of 26.7%.

This outperformance can be attributed to Solar industry’s increasing competitiveness against other technologies. This has allowed it to quickly increase its share of total U.S. electrical generation – from just 0.1% in 2010 to 1.4% currently. Along with this, the Canadian Solar’s rapid steps toward introducing solar energy programs have led to its positive performance.

Stocks to Consider

Canadian Solar currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong-Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting>>