A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR THE SOLAR INDUSTRY
In Association With:
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brighter future
FOR THE SOLAR INDUSTRY
CANADIAN SOLAR INC.
Technological ingenuity is crucial in the solar industry and no company understands this better than Canadian Solar. By investing heavily in research and development, the company has developed innovative technologies which are increasing the value of solar energy
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hrough cutting-edge technologies and its commitment to sustainable energy, Canadian Solar is a company which lives up to its slogan - ‘making a difference’. Over its 16-year history, the company has had a successful track record of developing, engineering, constructing and connecting solar projects worldwide and now boasts a total project pipeline of 9.5GW. Indeed, as one of the three biggest solar companies in the world by revenue, Canadian Solar has established itself as a name the industry can trust. For Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and Operations and Maintenance Services, the key to the company’s success lies in its comprehensive services and innovative approach. “We really like to think of ourselves as a full solution
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provider rather than just a ‘solar panel Driving efficiency company,” he says. “We’re trying to A commitment to efficiency and really understand what our customers performance is integral to Canadian are looking for, what’s prohibiting Solar’s ethos. The company’s PV them from being successful, and then panels have been so thoroughly tested developing solutions to cater for that.” under harsh conditions, that it not Initially beginning its O&M services only offers a 25-year warranty, but from an asset owner perspective, also guarantees the power output for Canadian Solar has sold many 20 years. The company also of its assets to third parties conducts 359 internal as it has built and quality tests daily and, Canadian Solar developed new ones. in doing so, keeps Inc has a total Demonstrating its efficiency and project pipeline of business acumen, productivity high Canadian Solar on its agenda. continues to provide This commitment O&M services to to efficiency these third party clients also extends to and has expanded its Canadian Solar’s O&M solutions to include a unique services. “We’ve recently offering of products including medium developed a custom monitoring voltage stations, string inverters, PV software platform that conducts a connectors as well as its PV modules. performance test every day based “Now, we primarily service the on the previous day’s performance,” projects that we sold and thanks to our adds Marx. “This allows us to verify O&M services we have been able to every single day that a plant has or leverage our knowledge to maximise hasn’t performed as it was expected the efficiency and performance to, even if there are no obvious of these assets,” says Marx. problems or alarms. This essentially
9.5GW
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CANADIAN SOLAR INC.
“I think we’ll continue to be successful because we’re much more than ‘just a solar company’; we’re a comprehensive solution” – Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and O&M Services
allows us to run a performance test on every asset every day. That commitment to maximising efficiency and performance is a key advantage that we’ve been able to offer to our customers.” Technological ingenuity With a 9,700-strong workforce globally, Canadian Solar boasts some of the best talent and expertise in
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the industry who are motivated to innovate and research so that they can improve the company’s solar cell and solar module technologies. With R&D investments of over US$600mn, Canadian Solar is widely recognised as a key innovator in the solar industry, says Marx.
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Acacia Solar Farm O&M by CSI “R&D is a critical component of our global operation,” he adds. “I think we have some of the most experienced and respected researchers, scientists and engineers who are continually innovating and developing our next wave of technologies.
“The solar industry is very competitive, and often what distinguishes a company is whether it has a head start with a given technology. Therefore, Canadian Solar is investing heavily in R&D to ensure that we are truly at the cutting edge of technology and innovation.” This drive towards technological ingenuity is a core focus for the company. One cutting-edge
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CANADIAN SOLAR INC.
Beamlight Solar Farm O&M by CSI - 01
“Canadian Solar is investing heavily in R&D to ensure that we are truly at the cutting edge of technology and innovation” – Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and O&M Services technology that Marx is particularly excited about are Canadian Solar’s Ku series of modules, the company’s new line of solar products, based on the next-generation dualcell technology. With low power loss in cell interconnection and low operating temperatures, this technology has higher output, better shading performance and is more reliable, explains Marx.
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“It really offers unparalleled performance characteristics,” he says. “There’s a whole range of advantages that the technology offers and I think that’s why the company is focused on and investing in R&D. We really offer a full range of solutions to the market and I think that’s pretty unique. Not many of our competitors offer that type of variety. “Many of our competitors are
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Beamlight Solar Farm O&M by CSI - 02 focused on producing as many panels as they can and not focusing on innovation,” Marx adds. “In contrast, Canadian Solar has always been innovative and has tried to offer something different that’s more compelling to the customer.” The solar industry is a competitive one to be in, but if there is one thing that can define the integrity and indeed the success of a company, it is trust. A bankable brand Over 1,200 active customers across the globe have put their faith in Canadian Solar. As one of the most long-standing tier-one suppliers in the industry, Canadian Solar has
established itself as a stable business operation and a name that the sector can rely on. “To us, being a tier one supplier is primarily based on trust,” explains Marx. “It shows how much you can trust the quality of Canadian Solar’s products, the performance characteristics that we offer, and the products and services we provide. It demonstrates the bankability of our company and, more than anything, it shows that our customers can trust our products and performance.” As one of the three biggest solar companies in the world by revenue, Canadian Solar is widely recognised as a market leader in the industry. With the growth of renewables
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CANADIAN SOLAR INC.
“That commitment to maximising efficiency and performance is a key advantage that we’ve been able to offer to our customers” – Dylan Marx, Managing Director of Global EPC and O&M Services
Panel Washing
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Canadian Solar “Make the Difference”
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and an increasing focus on ‘going greener’, it seems that the future of Canadian Solar is looking bright. “We’re very optimistic about the opportunities for solar, the continued adoption of renewables and the growth of these types of technologies,” reflects Marx. “For example, more than 60% of the total generating capacity that was added in the US last year was solar power. That’s a really striking trend and we expect that growth
of solar energy to continue. “I think Canadian Solar has a competitive edge because we’re different to some of our competitors,” he concludes. “We feel really proud of our new Ku module technologies as well as the next generation of technologies that we have coming down the pipeline. But more than that, I think we’ll continue to be successful because we’re much more than ‘just a solar company’; we’re a comprehensive solution.”
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545 Speedvale Avenue WestGuelph, Ontario N1k 1E6 Canada, vN1k 1E6 www.canadiansolar.com