Canadian Solar is forming a new joint venture with American shareholders for its U.S.-based solar panel and energy storage manufacturing and sales. This new strategic initiative will allow the company to “resume direct oversight of its U.S. operations.”
Canadian Solar will hold a 75.1% controlling stake in the new CS PowerTech, a joint venture between American shareholders and Canadian Solar’s majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar. CS PowerTech will operate U.S.-based manufacturing and sales of solar panels, solar cells and BESS. Canadian Solar will also acquire from CSI Solar a 75.1% ownership of certain overseas facilities that support U.S. operations. These assets are valued at $50 million.
“Launching CS PowerTech and resuming manufacturing directly under the publicly traded parent company reflects Canadian Solar’s commitment to its North American homebase and to building a resilient, transparent and diversified domestic supply chain,” said Canadian Solar in a press release.
The Ontario-headquartered Canadian Solar primarily operates out of China. The company currently has a 5-GW solar panel assembly plant in Texas and is building a solar cell manufacturing facility in Indiana. Subsidiary e-STORAGE is also planning to open a 3-GWh BESS plant in Kentucky. It’s assumed then that these operations will come under the CS PowerTech name, along with any U.S. sales efforts.
Other China-influenced companies with U.S. manufacturing plants have been swapping operations ownership to appear less foreign in order to comply with new foreign entity of concern (FEOC) rules. Trina Solar sold its Dallas solar panel assembly facility to T1 Energy, and JA Solar sold its Phoenix solar panel plant to Corning.
