Canadian Solar Sees BESS as Bright Side of Tough Quarter

---

Written by Will Ploch, Assistant Editor-in-Chief for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

---

Summary

Canadian Solar continues to see battery-storage development as its way forward in North America, where storage sales exceeded expectations--and solar module shipments saw a significant sales drop--in the second quarter.

---

BESS Comes Off Best

Battery energy-storage system (BESS) units continued to be the order of the day--or the second quarter, rather--for Canadian Solar Incorporated, as the contracted backlog for its e-STORAGE business reached $3.5 billion and shipments reached 3.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh), up 73% from second-quarter 2025. The growth helped to partly offset a 60% drop in shipments for solar modules over the same period.

Industrial Info Resources is tracking more than $10 billion worth of active and proposed projects from Canadian Solar worldwide, including $3.6 billion worth in the U.S. During the quarter, the company completed construction on the first phase of its battery cell-storage plant in Shelbyville, Kentucky, which has an annual production capacity of 3 GWh of utility-scale BESS units.

Canadian Solar also is preparing for an expansion at Shelbyville, set to begin later this year, that is designed to double capacity. Industrial Info Resources offers more information on this development in its Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Plant and Project databases, where readers can find details--including construction schedules, investment values and necessary equipment--in a plant profile and reports on the completed Phase I and the upcoming Phase II.

According to Industrial Info Resources data, more than $5 billion of Canadian Solar's active and proposed projects can be attributed to power-generation projects across the U.S. and Canada, mostly through its subsidiary Recurrent Energy. Recurrent's own subsidiary, Blue Moon Energy LLC, began construction about a year ago on its Blue Moon Solar Plant in Cynthiana, Kentucky, which is designed to generate 94 megawatts (MW) from more than 200,000 Canadian Solar modules.

Readers can learn more about the Cynthiana development from a plant profile and a detailed project report.

By the Numbers

• More than $10 billion: Total investment value of active and proposed projects from Canadian Solar worldwide
• $3.5 billion: Total contracted backlog for the company's e-STORAGE business at the end of the second quarter
• More than $5 billion: Total investment value of Canadian Solar's power-generation projects across the U.S. and Canada

Weak Module Sales Hit Hard

Canadian Solar's net revenues for the second quarter were reported to be $1.2 billion, a 29% decrease from second-quarter 2025 but on the high end of the company's $1 billion to $1.2 billion guidance range. The company also reported a net loss of $76.9 million, compared with a net gain of $7.2 million in the same period last year; executives attributed the loss, in part, to the drop in solar modules sales.

Nonetheless, Canadian Solar is moving forward with major module developments. During the second quarter, the company started production at its photovoltaic (PV) cell-manufacturing plant in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which will be the first in the U.S. to deliver advanced HJT bifacial N-type solar cells; other companies that produce these cells include China's Huasun Energy and Germany's AE Solar.

Executives say that, when combined with its module-manufacturing facility in Mesquite, Texas, the Jefferson facility in Indiana will "create a fully localized supply chain with an expected total annual cell capacity of over 6 gigawatts." Construction is set to be fully completed toward the end of the year for the Jefferson plant, while the Mesquite plant is preparing an expansion at Mesquite to raise its annual output from 5 to 10 GW.

Readers can learn more about the Jefferson development from a plant profile and project report, as well as a profile of the Mesquite plant and its upcoming expansion.

Colin Parkin, the chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, remained positive about the company's outlook in a quarterly earnings press release: "We anticipate the cadence of U.S. solar and storage shipments to accelerate in the second half, with each quarter of 2026 delivering larger volumes than the last."

However, Parkin acknowledged ramp-up costs associated with the Jeffersonville project would weigh on profitability for the remainder of the year.

The Industrial Info Resources GMI Project and Plant databases offer a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and a full list of related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources also offers a full list of reports for active and proposed projects from Canadian Solar worldwide.

Key Takeaways

• A drop in solar modules sales were a major factor in Canadian Solar's $76.9 million net loss for the second quarter.
• Two module-manufacturing plants are expected to create a supply chain of more than 6 GW.
• Executives expect U.S. solar and storage shipments to accelerate in the second half.

---

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news, and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing, and energy-related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified, and verified plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).