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Canadian Solar Expands Global Footprint with Solar & Energy Storage Investments

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSI Solar) reported revenues of $6.5 billion in 2024, reflecting an 11?cline year-on-year (YoY), while its net income from operations dropped 26% YoY to $337 million. The company shipped 31.1GW of solar modules during the year and saw an exponential 500% YoY increase in Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) shipments, reaching 6.6GWh. With strong demand for energy storage, Canadian Solar forecasts its BESS shipments to double in 2025, reaching 11-13GWh. However, growing debt remains a challenge, with net debt rising from $0.7 billion in 2023 to $3.0 billion in 2024 due to pricing pressures.

Despite the challenges, Canadian Solar is maintaining its module manufacturing capacity target of 61GW by the end of 2025, a slight increase from 60GW in 2024. The company is now prioritizing solar and BESS project deployments through its subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, backed by a $500 million equity raise from BlackRock. The shift in focus aligns with CEO Dr. Shawn Qu’s outlook, which highlights the rising demand for energy storage driven by sectors like data centers and EVs.

Recurrent Energy made significant progress in 2024, beginning construction on 1.4GWp of solar PV and 1.4GWh of BESS projects. By the end of the year, the company’s total solar development pipeline reached 25GW, including 1.9GW under construction. Meanwhile, its BESS project pipeline grew to 75GWh, with 10GWh under construction.

Canadian Solar is also playing a key role in China’s global cleantech expansion, investing over $2 billion in U.S. manufacturing. This includes a 5GW solar module factory in Texas (commissioned in 2023), a 5GW solar cell plant in Indiana (set for 2025), and a 6GWh BESS factory in Kentucky (scheduled for 2026).