How is Canadian Solar minimizing the environmental impacts of its solar panel production?
Canadian Solar has a goal of powering our global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2030. We also set targets to reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing activities, and we measure this progress every year. In 2023, we achieved great results, significantly reducing GHG emissions, energy, water, and waste intensity. The 2024 report will be released in May or June, and we will see how much progress we have made. We aim to further reduce our environmental impact. While challenges exist, our commitment to a cleaner, renewable future remains strong.
No matter what the political environment, the principles of reducing, recycling, and reusing will always be important.
How is Canadian Solar investing to ensure supply chain resilience and to protect expansion plans amid the current tariff turbulence?
Canadian Solar participates in almost every geographic market and industry segment, globally, so the current trade turbulence affects our business directly. I have been in the solar industry for 29 years, and this is the toughest cycle I have experienced. It is a combination of technological challenges, oversupply, and a difficult geopolitical environment.
We are continuing to focus on strategic expansion, helping our suppliers diversify with us and move their manufacturing close to our centers. We have a strong supply chain ecosystem in Asia, with over 40 gigawatts of solar cell and module manufacturing. Over the past ten years, we have expanded solar manufacturing in Thailand and Vietnam. We are also exploring adding lithium battery energy storage products to our manufacturing portfolio in the U.S. and Southeast Asia to help differentiate us from other players. This process takes time, but given a stable environment, this will continue to grow.
How is Canadian Solar approaching the U.S. market?
We are very focused on the U.S. market, investing over $2 billion in three locations: a solar module factory that is already producing in Mesquite, Texas; a solar cell factory in Indiana; and a battery energy storage factory in Kentucky. These facilities will help to maintain stable revenue and profit streams, alongside our development and operation of solar and energy storage projects. We are also encouraging our suppliers – such as graphite manufacturers for our energy storage facility – to set up in North America.
This is a part of our effort to create a more self-sustaining environment in the U.S. We are even meeting with transformer manufacturers who are considering setting up in Texas. The world is becoming more segmented, with more closed markets, and while we cannot change this political trend, we aim to lead in adapting to it while still working towards global carbon neutrality by 2060. It is a challenging path, but Canadian Solar is determined to succeed, and I am confident we will be here in the future, celebrating our success.
What kind of cross-sector collaborations does Canadian Solar pursue?
Collaboration and visibility are very important for us. We want to share what we are doing, what we have achieved, and the challenges we face. We also aim to understand the challenges others face and help them meet those challenges through international collaboration. Recently, I met with several potential suppliers who are exploring setting up operations in the U.S., following our lead. We also engage in demand-side collaboration, such as with a data center developer in Kentucky.
This developer invited us to work on a solar plus energy storage plan to support their new data center. As AI development causes electricity demand to rise in the U.S., we aim to show customers that solar plus storage can meet up to 90% of their electricity needs, reducing reliance on the grid and speeding up project timelines. We are launching new business divisions focused on providing total energy solutions, especially for data centers, and we believe these kinds of collaborations are key to reinforcing our position as a global leader in sustainability.
