Canadian Solar Inc. announced today that it has closed a BRL 500 million (approximately US$100 million) financing facility with Brazilian banks BTG Pactual and Itaú BBA.
Canadian Solar will use the financing facility for the development and construction of solar projects in Brazil. The facility will fund up to 70% of Canadian Solar's equity contributions in a subset of its Brazilian project portfolio, a unique structure in the local market. BTG Pactual and Itaú BBA, two investment and commercial banks in Brazil and long-term Canadian Solar partners in Latin America, are also financial advisors to the Company's Brazilian portfolio.
Canadian Solar has developed and contracted in federal, regional and private PPA auctions nearly 3 GWp of solar projects in Brazil. Of this, 480 MWp are in operation and have been sold to third parties, 483 MWp are under construction (with 80% interest already sold), and an additional 2 GWp are under development with PPA contracts. Canadian Solar's portfolio in Brazil is the largest in the market and the financing facility will support the plan to establish a publicly listed vehicle (FIP-IE) with operating projects, depending on market conditions, while providing flexibility on the timing of monetizing projects.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar commented, "We are grateful and pleased to collaborate again with BTG Pactual and Itaú BBA to finance the development and construction of more solar assets in Brazil. With this facility, we can further leverage our equity contribution to build projects in Brazil and monetize them post-COD at attractive valuation, while maintaining the option to retain meaningful long-term ownership. We look forward to executing on our large backlog and pipeline of solar projects in Brazil and supporting the country's renewable power and energy security goals."