Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the world's largest solar companies, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc. (CSSI), has entered into a sales agreement with TransCanada Corporation (TSX, NYSE: TRP) (TransCanada), whereby TransCanada will acquire from Canadian Solar a 86 megawatts (MW) AC solar project portfolio for approximately $470 million Canadian dollars.

Under the agreement, CSSI will provide TransCanada with 9 fully-operational and commissioned utility-scale solar projects across the Province of Ontario which are expected to come into service between late 2012 and mid-2013. These projects are all contracted assets under Ontario's Feed-In Tariff Program. In addition to securing construction finance, CSSI will provide turnkey engineering, procurement and construction services as well as being the supplier of major components to the projects. All solar PV modules used in the portfolio will be manufactured at Canadian Solar's manufacturing facility in Guelph, Ontario.

"This agreement with TransCanada is a true achievement for the solar industry in Canada, and an important milestone for Canadian Solar as we continue to expand our total solutions business to promote the expansion of solar power worldwide. We are proud of our association with TransCanada, one of North America's strongest and most successful energy infrastructure companies, which have chosen to partner with us for their entry into the Solar PV space. We look forward to a successful cooperation with TransCanada," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar Inc.