Canadian Solar module shipments fall to 2.5GW in Q1 2026 as Colin Parkin transitions to CEO

This decline in the company’s module sales is shown in the graph below; the 2.5GW of module sales posted in the first quarter of this year is the lowest sales total reported for a first quarter since 2020. This has had an impact on the company’s net revenues, with the figure of US$1.1 billion posted in the first quarter of this year, an 11% quarter-on-quarter decline and an 10% year-on-year decline, which Canadian Solar attributed to “lower sales of solar modules”.

Much of this decline in sales stems from the company’s ongoing efforts to shift manufacturing capacity from China to the US; while Canadian Solar is headquartered in Ontario, it has a large operational presence in China, which means that its products are vulnerable to many of the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on overseas goods, including those from China. In the first quarter of last year, the company said that it would “accelerate relation of certain manufacturing and procurement processes,” which was broadly understood to be in response to these trade barriers.

In the months since, Canadian Solar has consolidated its manufacturing position in the US, including assuming direct control of its US solar PV and energy storage manufacturing subsidiary in December and ramping up its production of cells at its Jeffersonville facility in the US earlier this year.

Indeed, the company has now announced plans to expand the capacity of the Jeffersonville facility beyond 5GW; the first phase of operations, with a capacity of 2.1GW, is currently in operation, and Canadian Solar plans to add a further 4.2GW of nameplate capacity from 2027.

Alongside this emphasis on US manufacturing, the company has also doubled down on battery production. Canadian Solar’s sales of battery products increased significantly in the first quarter of this year, reaching 2.1GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS), which is a 5% quarter-on-quarter increase and a 142% year-on-year increase.

The company saw a similar divergence in demand for its solar and storage products last year, and Parkin said that both US manufacturing work and battery production would have a bigger impact on the company’s balance sheet in the second half of 2026.

“We anticipate stronger storage volumes and the benefits from the ramp-up of our US domestic solar cell manufacturing to be weighted toward the second half, while our project development business continues to execute on its rebalancing strategy,” said Parkin.

Parkin’s appointment signals importance of battery ‘evolution’

Parkin’s appointment to the CEO position, effective today, will see him replace Dr Shawn Qu, the company’s founder, who will transition to executive chairman and chief technology officer. These moves come just months after Parkin was elevated to the position of president, again to replace Qu, after serving as the president of the company’s subsidiary e-STORAGE. Parkin’s rise from leader of the company’s storage subsidiary to CEO of Canadian Solar, as a whole, demonstrates the evolution of storage products in the company’s broader portfolio, according to Qu.

“This evolution calls for thoughtful leadership succession, and I am incredibly proud to transition the chief executive role to Colin Parkin, whose execution and operational leadership have already established our first-mover advantage in the energy storage sector,” said Qu today.

“The broader solar market remains complex, as incremental price increases have not yet fully absorbed upstream cost pressures,” added Parkin. “Furthermore, competition in the storage sector is intensifying. In the face of these challenges, we remain committed to a balanced strategy focused on rigorous execution and continuous innovation.”

The company is optimistic about its performance in the second quarter of this year, expecting module shipments to increase to 3.1-3.3GW, and drive total revenue of as much as US$1.2 billion.