Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund has announced the acquisition of a 1.1 MW alternating current (1.2 MW direct current) solar power plant in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, for a total of ¥253.5mn ($1.7mn). The transaction was concluded with CS Ibaraki Takamihara, a special purpose company owned by Canadian Solar Holdings. This is the fund’s first asset operating outside the feed-in-tariff (FIT) regime.
Asset valued across multiple components
According to information provided by asset manager Canadian Solar Asset Management, the power plant was valued between ¥178.7mn and ¥225.7mn, while the 12,752m² land was assessed at ¥63.3mn. Commissioned in June 2024, the facility uses 1,890 solar modules manufactured by Canadian Solar. It will continue to be operated and maintained by Canadian Solar Projects and Canadian Solar O&M Japan.
The CS Tsukuba City Takamihara Power Plant was initially certified under the FIT scheme in March 2021 before switching to the feed-in-premium (FIP) scheme upon commissioning. The strike price under the FIP regime is set at ¥11.9 per kilowatt-hour.
Power purchase agreement until 2044
Electricity output, estimated at 1.7 GWh per year, is sold under a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) to an undisclosed retailer. The contract runs until March 2044. Following the acquisition, the selling SPC will continue operating the facility under a leaseback arrangement, paying both fixed and performance-based fees to the fund.
Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund now holds 35 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 247.4 MW direct current. Prior to this transaction, the entire portfolio operated under the FIT regime, with most assets contracted at high tariffs of ¥36 or ¥40 per kilowatt-hour. The fund’s total investment across its portfolio amounts to ¥101.8bn ($687mn).
