Canadian Solar Inc - Solar Panel Reviews

About Canadian Solar Inc

Canadian Solar is a "Tier 1" producer of panels. Despite their name, any panels you buy in Australia will not be made in Canada. Canadian Solar panels we purchase are most likely to be made in China - not that there's anything wrong with that.

These days the company's panels generally carry a 25 year product warranty in Australia. Canadian Solar has an Australian office located in Melbourne to look after local support and warranty issues.

Canadian Solar produces a variety of panels, all of which are corrosion resistant and therefore suitable for installation anywhere in Australia. The company manufactures poly and monocrystalline modules, most using PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact) technology; but some boasting TOPCon (tunnel oxide passivated contact) or HJT (heterojunction) tech. Like many major manufacturers, it has also moved into half-cut (dual) and shingle cell configurations.

The highest efficiency panels produced by Canadian Solar (HiHero) are up to 22.5% efficient. This higher than average efficiency can be useful when available roof space is limited.

You can find specifications and pricing of selected models available in Australia on my solar panel comparison table.

Company History

In 1987 the founder of Canadian Solar, Shawn Qu, was earning around $5 a week in today's money teaching in China. That year he moved to Canada and began studying to obtain his masters degree in physics. In 2001 he founded the company.

Shawn Qu now spends most of his time in China and that is understandable, as in winter it is so cold in Canada it is possible to freeze to death in less time than it takes for a bear to find you and eat you.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for the company. The firm experienced a significant setback in June 2016 when a cell manufacturing plant they owned in Funing was hit by the worst tornado in China in 50 years, injuring employees and collapsing almost 4 hectares of factory buildings.

Manufacturing Locations And Capacity

Canadian Solar has 20 manufacturing facilities spread across Asia and the Americas. Its 2022 module production capacity was approximately 32 GW, while cell manufacturing capacity was around 19.8 GW.

As August 2023, the company had shipped around 96GW of panel capacity - quite a jump on September 2022's  75 gigawatts and from its mid-2021 tally of 55 gigawatts.

Canadian Solar Builds Solar Farms

Canadian Solar is more heavily involved in the construction of solar farms than most solar panel manufacturers. The company says it has developed, built and connected more than 8.8GW of projects across 20 countries - including large scale PV power stations here in Australia.

By August 2023, the Company had approximately 609 MW of its own projects in operation, 6.9 GW of projects under construction or in backlog, plus an additional 17.7 GW of projects in advanced and early-stage pipeline. 

Warranty Procedure For Orphaned Canadian Solar Customers

If you have purchased Canadian Solar panels from a solar installer who has since gone out of business, the responsibility for warranty claims shifts to Canadian Solar. Their customer service line in Australia is 03 8609 1844 - affected customers should contact this line for assistance and advice on how to arrange for panel replacement under warranty. 

I Am Fine With Recommending Canadian Solar Panels

Canadian Solar is considered a tier 1 solar panel producer, which means banks and other institutions consider both the panels and the company reliable enough to be a worthwhile investment.

The company's panels are pretty popular with installers here in Australia, ranking equal third in the SolarQuotes 2022 Installers Choice awards; in the budget category.

I have no problem recommending Canadian Solar panels. They are a generally reliable panel that provides good value for money. Just don’t expect them to come from Canada.