Canadian Solar Inc. CSIQ has begun commercial operation of a 24 megawatt-peak (MWp) solar photovoltaic ("PV") power plant in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.

Details of the Plant

The Yamaguchi plant, the largest solar power plant built by Canadian Solar in Japan, utilizes 92,064 Canadian Solar CS6P-260P/CS6P-255P modules.

The plant is expected to generate around 28,487 MW-hour ("MWh") of electricity annually. Power generated by the facility will be sold under a 20-year feed-in-tariff contract to Chugoku Electric Power Company at the rate of 38 cents per kWh.

Canadian Solar's Take on the Deal

According to Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, energizing of the 24 MWp solar plant boosted its portfolio of projects in operation in Japan, bringing its total portfolio to 46 MWp.

Apart from these, the company already has 167 MWp of projects under construction and another 66 MWp of projects that are ready to build. This will enable Canadian Solar to deliver more solar projects in Japan in future.

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Scope of Alternate Energy

Regulations pertaining to pollution control are becoming increasingly stringent, making it crucial for utilities to spend more on emission control infrastructure. Meanwhile, because of their clean-burning nature, investment in the alternate energy space could prove to be profitable over the long run. In particular, solar energy, which presently contributes to only 1% of the total electricity generation in the U.S., represents ample scope of improvement in the days to come.

Going forward, rising investments in the U.S. solar industry will benefit domestic solar companies like Canadian Solar, First Solar, Inc. FSLR, SolarCity Corporation SCTY and SunPower Corporation SPWR.

Canadian Solar's Presence in Japan

Canadian Solar caters to a geographically-diverse customer base spread across key markets including Japan.  At the end of second-quarter 2016, the company’s late-stage utility-scale solar pipeline in Japan was 576 MWp.

The company has a significant presence in Japan and continues to expand its operations in this growing solar energy market. It expects to complete about 56.2 MWp of projects, including construction and grid connection, in Japan in 2016.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Canadian Solar currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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