Canadian Solar, a member of the Silicon Module Super League, announced in early December that it has completed a US$150 million fundraising round that it launched this May. The fresh capital was raised through the sales of almost 3.64 million common shares of the company. The net proceeds will be used to support the execution of its long-term growth strategy that includes strengthening its PV and energy storage businesses. Website Renewables Now was the first to cover this event.
Canadian Solar intends to mainly use the net proceeds from the fundraising round for expanding its energy storage business and extending its pipeline of energy storage projects. However, the company also wants to allocate some of the net proceeds for “general corporate purposes” and acquisitions of businesses, assets or technologies.
The target amount of US$150 million generated from the sales of common stocks is before commissions and other expenses related to the offering. The sales was conducted under an at-the-market equity offering program. According to the related prospectus supplement that the company filed with the SEC, the additional capital will be earmarked for investments and acquisitions of complementary assets and technologies. A portion of it will also be set aside for the creation of investment vehicles for projects in Brazil and Europe.
Canadian Solar is a new entrant in the energy storage sector. However, the company has been very aggressive. One of the highlights of its earnings report for the third quarter of this year is 2.9GWh of energy storage capacity under construction and 21GWh of energy storage capacity in development pipeline. According to reporting by various renewable energy news websites, Canadian Solar entered an agreement with Windel Energy in the middle of this November to jointly set up 1.5GW/3GWh of battery energy storage capacity in the UK. In the same month, Canadian Solar also formed a strategic partnership with major battery supplier CATL.