BlackRock has made a big new bet on a publicly traded solar company.

‍What’s happening:‍

• Guelph, Ontario based solar technology and renewable energy company Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ) has announced that they have landed $500M USD of capital from BlackRock for their subsidiary Recurrent Energy
  
• The new capital will come from a fund managed by the Climate Infrastructure arm of BlackRock
  

Why it matters:‍

• Solar energy infrastructure and adoption is rapidly accelerating globally as more countries begin to deepen their commitment to renewable energy and net zero emissions
  
• The fresh funding from BlackRock will accelerate Recurrent Energy’s plans to go from a pure renewable energy project developer to a project developer and owner
  

By the numbers:‍

• BlackRock will own 20% of Recurrent Energy through their preferred equity investment
  
• Canadian Solar will continue to own the majority of Recurrent Energy
  
• Recurrent Energy currently has financed and developed 9 gigawatts of solar and 3 gigawatt hours of energy storage systems
  
• Recurrent Energy has renewable energy projects in 6 continents globally
  

Market reaction:‍

• Shares of Canadian Solar are up more than +15% following the announcement
  

Going deeper:‍

• Canadian Solar has also recently been selected to build out multiple notable battery storage projects in Australia and the United Kingdom
  
• Canadian Solar currently has two new production facilities under construction in the United States, for both solar cell manufacturing and for solar PV module production

‍