Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world's largest solar power companies, announced on July 25th, 2013, the successful completion of a 30 MW rooftop PV installation in China's City of Suzhou under the country's Golden Sun program. The project was historic in its size, complexity and scale. The project spanned 129 buildings, with a total surface area of approximately 500,000 square meters. The rooftops were mixed surfaces, with 200,000 square meters of steel structured rooftops and 300,000 square meters of concrete rooftops. Canadian Solar's CS6P-245P's modules were used.
Construction on the project was completed in June 2013, with full-grid connectivity taking place through July and August. The project's total capacity is 30.2 MWp. The first year's electricity generation is projected to be about 32.3 million KWh, while the accumulated electricity generation is expected to be approximately 728.9 million KWh over the next 25 years. Over the same 25 year period, the project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 726 thousand tons, while reducing over 284 thousand tons of standard coal consumption. The Company expects to transfer ownership of a majority of the projects to the rooftop owners or other investors.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, said, "This is one of the first major successes under China's Golden Sun program. This was an attractive project for us given the location and suitability for grid connection, which we knew would help us secure development partners and investors. Canadian Solar has built a strong position in China given our manufacturing history there and enjoys the support of a number of financial institutions and development partners. We intend to leverage our leadership position, global brand and reputation for quality solar power project development, as the China market continues to develop into one of the world's largest markets for solar power over the next few years."