Canadian Solar has announced that it has received $100 million in financing from two Brazilian banks to help it develop and build solar projects in Brazil. The financing arrangement with banks BTG Pactual and Itau BBA would support up to 70 per cent of Canadian Solar’s equity commitments in its Brazilian project portfolio.
The company can use this financing facility to leverage its equity contributions to build projects in Brazil and monetize them after the commercial operating date, while still retaining important long-term ownership. Since opening an office in Brazil in 2013, Canadian Solar has won a slew of private bids and contracts. In Brazil, it has a backlog and pipeline of solar projects of almost 3 GWp, with 480 MWp in operation and sold to third parties. A total of 483 MWp is under construction, with another 2 GWp under development through power purchase agreements.
Canadian Solar has developed and constructed about 5.7 GWp in over 20 countries. According to the solar producer and project developer’s news release, depending on market circumstances, the financing may assist a proposal to form a publicly traded vehicle in Brazil known as a Fundos de Investimento em Participações-Infraestrutura, or FIP-IE.
Brazil’s PV module demand is expected to reach almost 5 GW in 2020, with domestic module manufacturers accounting for just a 3.8 percent market share, shipping approximately 190 MW of modules. Canadian Solar has a PV module facility in Sao Paulo with a 380 MW annual production capacity.