Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Inks Deal With APS for Storage Project
Canadian Solar Inc.’s CSIQ arm, Recurrent Energy, recently signed a tolling agreement with the Arizona Public Service (“APS”) company for Papago Storage. Scheduled for construction commencement in the third quarter of 2024, Papago Storage is a 1,200-megawatt-hour (MWh) energy storage project in Maricopa County, AZ.
Papago Storage, which is expected to begin serving customers in the second quarter of 2025, is likely to be the largest standalone energy storage project in Arizona.
Rationale Behind the Deal
The agreement was finalized amid Arizona’s unprecedented electricity demand. Also, amid the rising solar energy capacity in the region, the Papago Storage project is likely to assist the state in storing the excess energy produced as electricity demand continues to rise.
On Jul 15, the electricity demand from APS customers soared to an all-time peak for the second time in a week to 8,191 megawatts (MW), as reported by Reuters. With APS being the state’s largest electricity supplier and global warming rising across the nation, more such peak demand can be expected in the near future, to which the Papago Storage project can well cater.
Recurrent Energy’s Role in Storage Projects
Recurrent Energy has executed one of the world’s first large-scale solar-plus-storage tolling agreements. It has successfully developed 3 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of battery storage projects across six continents. In 2022, Recurrent Energy brought into commercial operation 2 GWh of energy storage in the United States and has more than 47 GWh of battery storage projects under development.
Such efforts by the company in the realm of energy storage will not only grow its asset base in the nation but also allow Canadian Solar to effectively expand its operations and capitalize on the growing electricity demand. The latest agreement with APS is a testament to that.
Growth Prospects
Per the report from the Energy Information Administration, the United States is likely to witness 8.6 GW of battery storage power capacity on the grid, which could effectively lead to doubling the U.S. battery storage capacity.
Such bright prospects unfold expansion and growth opportunities for companies like Canadian Solar. Other solar companies that have significant exposure to the U.S. battery storage market are as follows:
Enphase Energy ENPH enjoys a valuable position in the solar market by manufacturing fully integrated solar-plus-storage solutions. Its next-generation battery in North America is Enphase Encharge 3 and Encharge 10 storage systems, with a usable and scalable capacity of 3.4 kWh and 10.1 kWh, respectively. The company shipped 82.3 MWhof IQ batteries in the second quarter and expects to ship between 80 and 100 MWhof batteries in the third quarter.
Enphase’s long-term earnings growth rate is 23.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 sales suggests a growth rate of 17.9%.
SunPower’s SPWR SunVault advanced battery technology stores solar energy for maximum efficiency. In 2022, the company announced a product-line extension in the battery-storage segment of its business by introducing 19.5 kWh and 39 kWh SunVault battery-storage products. SunPower has also begun engineering and design work on the second version of its SunVault energy storage system.
SunPower’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 7.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 sales calls for a growth rate of 7.5%.
SolarEdge SEDG commenced the shipment of its new battery cells designed for Energy Storage applications in January 2023. SEDG’s Sella 2 facility has been specifically developed by SolarEdge to spur its manufacturing capacity of lithium-ion batteries, strengthening its position in the battery cell manufacturing space.
The company boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 30.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 sales implies a growth rate of 24.1% from its prior-year reported figure.
Price Movement
In a month, shares of Canadian Solar have declined 15.2% compared with the industry’s fall of 19.7%.
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Zacks Rank
Canadian Solar currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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