GUELPH AND TORONTO, ONTARIO – APRIL 17, 2012

Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ) and SkyPower Limited (“SkyPower”) have entered into a landmark purchase and international joint venture agreement, which creates a powerful team comprising of one of the world’s largest solar companies and Canada’s largest owner and developer of solar projects to build and deploy solar energy solutions in Ontario, and to jointly develop solar projects internationally in select emerging markets.

Under the agreement, Canadian Solar will acquire a majority interest in 16 solar projects representing approximately 190-200MW DC from SkyPower. Each of these projects was awarded a 20-year power purchase contract by the Ontario Power Authority. Fifteen of these contracts were issued under Ontario’s Feed-In-Tariff Program, and one was issued as part of Ontario’s Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program. These projects are in the advanced permitting stage and are expected to commence construction in 2013 and be fully operational in 2014. They are expected to generate over C$ 800 million (US$ 800 million) in revenue for Canadian Solar.

It is expected that the manufacturing and construction of these projects will create hundreds of new jobs in Ontario and continue to position Ontario as a North American leader in green energy.

Canadian Solar and SkyPower have also agreed to form a 50:50 international joint venture focused on developing solar power plants in select emerging markets. The Company expects to start generating revenue from this global strategic initiative within the next two to three years.

The transaction price is approximately C$ 185 million (US$ 185 million) to be paid at certain milestones. Canadian Solar will assume certain security deposits, which are typical with FIT contracts. In conjunction with the transaction, a five-year warrant is being issued to SkyPower for 9.9% of Canadian Solar’s outstanding shares, with a strike price of US$ 5.00.

Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, remarked: “We are pleased to expand our partnership with SkyPower after successfully building three projects for them in Ontario over the past 12 months. This transaction solidifies our Ontario pipeline well into 2014 and supports our stated goal of achieving 40 percent of revenue from providing solar power plants and total system solutions in 2013. Importantly, while the total mega wattage in the transaction is significant, at approximately 190 to 200 MW, the actual project sizes are directly aligned with our strategy of concentrating on smaller utility scale projects that individually are less risky to finance and execute on. We remain open to larger projects should the opportunity be matched with our ability to obtain financing and construct the projects and we are excited about the opportunity to expand our relationship with SkyPower in select international markets through our new joint venture.”

Kerry Adler, President and Chief Executive Officer of SkyPower, said: “We have a successful history working together with Canadian Solar on developing and building solar projects in Canada. We are pleased to have such a strong partner in terms of industry expertise, brand and bankability. We will continue to invest in and build our extensive solar pipeline across Ontario and we look forward to expanding internationally in select markets under this new joint venture.”