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GUELPH, Ontario and FORT COLLINS, Colo., Sept. 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampt LLC, a global leader in power conversion technology, today announced the deployment of its DC optimizers in a 33 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) system with Canadian Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar power companies. The project uses Ampt's DC String Optimizers in one of the largest deployments of DC power optimizers in the world.

The 33 MW installation capped off a six-month evaluation period by Canadian Solar, which began with a smaller demonstration project. Following the successful demonstration, Canadian Solar selected Ampt's String Optimizer as it consistently outperformed other designs while costing less.

"Our initial work with Ampt surpassed expectations and laid the groundwork for the 33 MW utility-scale installation," said Ken Rowbotham at Canadian Solar. "We chose Ampt for its clear technology advantages which support our broader commitment to being the industry-leading provider of clean solar energy across the globe."

When compared to other options, Ampt String Optimizers delivered superior value. Ampt's patented technology puts voltage and current limits on the output of each optimizer to allow twice the number of PV modules per string and eliminate half of the combiner boxes and associated cable and labor. Ampt also performs maximum power point tracking (MPPT) on every 20 modules to mitigate losses due to mismatch, and allows the inverter to operate at a high and narrow input voltage range to improve inverter performance. Ampt's optional string-level data reporting via wireless communication helped validate comparison data.

"At Canadian Solar, we are always evaluating new technologies to lower the cost of solar energy for our customers," said Ken Rowbotham at Canadian Solar. "The Ampt solution stood out, as it allowed us to reduce the cost of electrical balance-of-system (BOS) components, produce more energy and get the most out of the inverters."

"We're excited to partner with an organization of Canadian Solar's experience and reputation within the industry," said Darryl Parker, vice president of sales and marketing at Ampt. "This project – the largest of its kind to date – is not only a milestone for Ampt, but also truly indicative of the market's future."

According to research from Global Market Insights, DC power optimizers will continue to see rapid growth in the solar market. While the use of DC optimization started with the residential market at the module level, Ampt's String Optimizers bring unique power conversion technology to large commercial and utility-scale power plants by lowering the total upfront cost of systems while increasing energy generation.  

"While the PV market is on track to experience significant growth, the need to lower system costs is paramount." said Levent Gun, CEO of Ampt. "Some large-scale solar developers are considering changing from 1,000 to 1,500-volt DC systems, while others are choosing to deploy String Optimizers. Both of these approaches reduce cost by eliminating electrical BOS components, but only Ampt increases MPPT resolution to improve lifetime system performance. As the industry works through the challenges of 1,500-volt component costs and availability, Ampt String Optimizers provide an immediate advantage using 1000-volt components."

More information regarding Ampt's Power Optimizers can be found at www.ampt.com, or stop by the Ampt booth (#2179) at Solar Power International (SPI) North America. To learn more about Canadian Solar, visit www.canadiansolar.com or stop by their SPI booth (#2517).

About Ampt
Ampt delivers innovative power conversion technology and communications capabilities that improve the way PV systems are designed. The company, along with strategic partners in the HDPV Alliance, is lowering system cost, improving ROI, increasing energy generation and broadening the PV solar market.

About Canadian Solar Inc.
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 a provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power projects. In the past 14 years, Canadian Solar has successfully deployed approximately 14GW of premium quality modules in 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 on the website.

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 quarterly or annual results, particularly the management quotations and the statements in the "Business Outlook" section, 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; delays in utility-scale project construction; 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 date, unless otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

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SOURCE Ampt LLC