CANADIAN SOLAR INC.
Canadian Solar Energises Two Solar Power Plants in Japan

Canadian Solar Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies, announced that it started the commercial operation of two solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants, totaling 12.7 MWp in Japan. The two plants include the 10.2 MWp Aomori Solar Power Plant in Rokunohe Town, Aomori Prefecture and the 2.5 MWp Saitama Minano Power Plant in Minano Town, Saitama Prefecture.

"We are pleased to announce the successful grid connection of two additional solar power plants in Japan, which brings our total portfolio of operating plants in Japan to 58.51MWp," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar Inc., "This represents another milestone for our energy business strategy, and we look forward to continuing to deliver additional solar projects as we build out our portfolio of high value operating solar energy plants in Japan."

The 10.2 MWp Aomori Solar Power Plant, powered by 39,248 Canadian Solar CS6P-P modules, achieved commercial operation on December 27, 2016. Each year, the plant generates around 11,695 MWh electricity, which will be purchased by Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20 year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of 36.00 yen (USD0.31) per kWh.

The 2.5 MWp Saitama Minano Power Plant used 9,240 Canadian Solar CS6P-P modules and reached commercial operation on December 22, 2016. The electricity generated from the plant, approximately 2,978 MWh annually, will be purchased by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. under a 20 year feed-in-tariff contract at the rate of 32.00 yen (USD0.27) per kWh.

About Canadian Solar

Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects in various stages of development. In the past 16 years, Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 17 GW of premium quality modules to over 90 countries around the world. Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on NASDAQ since 2006. For additional information about the company, follow Canadian Solar on LinkedIn or visit www.canadiansolar.com.

Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release regarding the Company's expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, business prospects and future results, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include general business and economic conditions and the state of the solar industry; governmental support for the deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as Japan, the U.S., India and China; changes in customer order patterns; changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition; pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in new product introduction; delays in utility-scale project approval process in Japan; delays in utility-scale project construction in Japan; cancelation of utility-scale feed-in-tariff contracts in Japan; continued success in technological innovations and delivery of products with the features customers demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements; availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings, including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 20, 2016. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today's (1/18) date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.