Canadian Solar to Supply PV Modules to Japan - Analyst Blog

One of the leading solar product manufacturers, Canadian Solar Inc. CSIQ secured a contract for the supply of 43 Megawatt MW of photovoltaic ("PV") modules to Japan's second biggest solar plant project.

Initiating supply starting next month, the company expects to complete the contract in Feb 2015. Per the contract, Canadian Solar will deliver nearly 168,300 units of its 60 cell high efficiency CS6P255P modules with a power output of 255 Watt-peak.

The contract will help Canadian Solar to increase its presence in the emerging renewable markets of Asia. Japan is a prospective major customer, having nearly doubled its solar installations in 2013. In the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the country deactivated all its nuclear reactors. This drove Japan to invest heavily in renewables to make up for its energy requirements.

In the recent past the global solar market was weighed down by a supply glut and falling average selling prices. Last year, the solar space recovered sharply from the lows and the trend is expected to continue in 2014 as well with improving supply-demand dynamics. This bodes well for core solar players like Canadian Solar.

Countries like Japan, China and India will be key solar demand drivers in the years ahead. Canadian Solar fully intends to capitalize on the positive market fundamentals.

Beginning 2014, the company clinched numerous contracts from the three above mentioned Asian countries. These include an 18MW PV module delivery contract from Hitachi Ltd in Japan and a 2.1 MW PV module supply contract for a solar plant in India.

In addition, Canadian Solar is exploring the downstream solar market in China. The company's business wing CSI Solar Power (China) Inc. successfully completed the grid connection of a 10 MW solar power facility in the Jiangsu Province of China in Jan 2014.

The company is poised to gain from the rapid upswing in the global solar PV industry in the next five years as installed capacity is expected to reach 500 Gigawatts by 2018 as per the report. The solar industry is projected to generate revenues worth $200 billion in the period 2014 − 2018.

Currently, the company holds a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other well-ranked solar operators include Zacks Ranked #2 (Buy) Trina Solar Ltd TSL, ReneSola Ltd SOL and SunPower Corp. SPWR.