Canadian Solar lowers capacity expansion plans for 2018 as shipment guidance stalls

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has lowered nameplate capacity expansion plans in 2018 for both in-house solar cell production and module assembly as total module shipment guidance for 2018, indicates marginal growth. Imaga: Canadian Solar

‘Silicon Module Super League’ (SMSL) member Canadian Solar has lowered nameplate capacity expansion plans in 2018 for both in-house solar cell production and module assembly as total module shipment guidance for 2018, indicates marginal growth. 

The SMSL reported total solar module shipments in 2017 reached a new record high of 6,828MW, compared to 5,232MW in 2016.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

However, initial guidance given for 2018, which includes a wide range for module shipments to be between 6.6GW to 7.1GW, suggests less than 300MW of shipment growth year-on-year, or less than 4% annual growth. 

Having adjusted manufacturing capacity expansions throughout 2017, Canadian Solar continued to tweak plans for 2018, a second time.

Total module assembly capacity by the end of 2018 is targeted at 9.81GW, compared to 10.31GW guidance, previously given.

In reporting fourth quarter and full-year 2017 financial results, the SMSL noted that its wafer manufacturing capacity at the end of 2017 stood at 5.0GW, a 3GW increase from 2016. The SMSL also noted that all wafer capacity had been migrated to diamond wire-saw technology in 2017, which goes in tandem with its proprietary ‘black silicon’ texturing process required with diamond wire-saw for p-Type multicrystalline wafers. 

However, the company has not announced new wafer capacity expansions for 2018, keeping capacity as 5GW. 

Solar cell manufacturing capacity stood at 5.45 GW at the end of 2017, up from 2.44GW in 2016, in-line with previous upwardly revised guidance.

Canadian Solar has revised its cell capacity expansion plans again, noting that it expected nameplate cell capacity to reach 5.6GW by mid-2018, compared to 6.20GW in its previous update. The SMSL also noted that cell capacity at the end of 2018 was expected to reach 6.35GW, compared to previous guidance of reaching 6.95GW. 

A similar adjustment has been made to in-house module assembly capacity expansion plans. The SMSL noted module capacity reached 8.11GW by the end of 2017, up from 6.17GW in 2016.

The company said that module nameplate capacity was expected to reach 8.31GW by mid-2018, compared to its last update of reaching 9.06GW in that time frame. 

Total module assembly capacity by the end of 2018 is targeted at 9.81GW, compared to 10.31GW guidance, previously given. 

Management noted that it had recently experienced under-utilization rates at its module assembly plant in Canada and its manufacturing plant in South East Asia, due to the Section 201 tariff decisions by the US government.

However, management also noted that its current order book and the global financing environment provided ‘uncertainty relating to final customer demand and solar project construction and sale schedules’ in 2018. 

The SMSL also noted that cell capacity at the end of 2018 was expected to reach 6.35GW, compared to previous guidance of reaching 6.95GW.
7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

September 11, 2025
US cell manufacturer ES Foundry is proceeding with expansion plans despite a six-month delay due to recent trade and tax credit policy uncertainties.
Premium
September 11, 2025
PV CellTech USA: US cell manufacturer ES Foundry’s CEO Alex Zhu discusses his company's rapid ascent, strategic technology choices and the challenges of operating in a shifting policy environment.
September 10, 2025
At RE+ 2025, companies launched AI-driven platforms, terrain-following trackers, low-carbon modules, and advanced energy management solutions for solar and storage.
September 8, 2025
Vaisala has launched a new hail alert system aimed at solar operators grappling with an increasingly costly problem for PV installations.
September 5, 2025
Scientists from Germany and Saudi Arabia have discovered that perovskite thin-film cells are compatible with current industry standard silicon solar cells, which they claim is a “crucial step toward the industrialisation of perovskite silicon tandem solar cells”.
Premium
September 4, 2025
Analysis: A Biden-era policy to suspend the payment of duties on Southeast Asian module imports looks set to backfire badly on an already under-pressure US solar industry.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines