An executive of Canadian Solar recently stated that the decline in the cost of photovoltaic modules will make little

contribution to future photovoltaic power prices.

It is reported that Canadian Solar will be listed in China in the next quarter. Zhuang Yan, president of CSI's solar

manufacturing business, said on the 18th:"The era of declining solar module prices has basically passed."

The comment has been published on Canadian website, when the company announced the fourth quarter and full-year

business data, and explained the company's large-scale entry into the energy storage field. Canadian Chairman and

CEO Qu Xiaohua predicts that the company's energy storage business will occupy approximately 10% of the US

battery energy storage market this year.

Shortage

Although the impact on shipments, profit margins and revenue in the fourth quarter was better than expected,

Canadian Solar highlighted the shortage of polysilicon, photovoltaic glass and backplanes in its third-quarter financial

report. Zhuang Yan said: "We are approaching the bottom of the solar cost curve.

" And said that module prices will rise in the near future.

He said that although the cost of photovoltaic glass has begun to fall and transportation costs have begun to stabilize

 after a year affected by the new crown epidemic, the price of polysilicon has risen by 25% recently. Canadian Solar

can withstand this shock thanks to the efforts of its customers and partners because they can share part of the higher

costs.

In addition, Canadian Solar seems to be preparing to spin off its manufacturing from the project development

business, and the IPO is expected to take place in the next quarter. CSI Solar will be responsible for the manufacturing

 business, and its China solar project business will also be merged into this department,and the remaining business

 will focus on the development of non-Chinese projects, including power generation and energy storage.

According to Canadian Vice President Ismael Guerrero, the company's energy storage investment projects have

increased from less than 3GWh a year ago to nearly 9GWh, and 1GWh is currently under construction. In terms of

 traditional power generation business, the company has 20.2GWp of solar projects,1.6GWp is under construction, 

and another 3.8GWp is completed within 4 years.

Data

It is understood that the company shipped 2,998MW in the fourth quarter, down 5% year-on-year, but revenue

 increased by 14% year-on-year to US$1.04 billion,and net profit fell from US$9 million in the third quarter to US$7

 million in the fourth quarter. On a full-year basis, although revenue increased from US$3.2 billion to US$3.48 billion

 in the same period, net profit dropped significantly from US$172 million in 2019 to US$147 million last year.

In 2021, Canadian Solar plans to sell 1.8~2.3GW of solar projects, and the sale of projects will increase to 4~4.5GW

 in 2025. The company also said that it expects to ship 3 to 3.2GW of photovoltaic modules this quarter, with revenues

 of US$1 to 1.1 billion, and a profit margin of 16-18%. In addition, the company expects PV module shipments in

 2021 to be 18-20GW, with an estimated revenue of US$560-600 million.