Trina Solar makes new 15 GW module announcement

Chinese PV manufacturing giant Trina Solar has announced plans to develop a further 15 GW of annual module production capacity at its Changzhou city headquarters within three years.

The company said it had signed an agreement with the local authorities of the Changzhou High-tech Zone to develop the RMB3 billion ($440 million) project.

The latest huge expansion bid is the fifth such announcement Trina has made since the start of the year, and the biggest, with the manufacturer having announced 25 GW of new module capacity and 15 GW of cell production lines since January 1, all in its native Jiangsu province. Trina secretary Wu Qun described the strategy as “a large scale smart energy project … with Changzhou City, which is very important for the company’s future production capacity.”

Trina in January revealed plans for 5 GW of new cell production capacity at a factory in Suqian city and then, two months later, announced a new, 4 GW module fab in Yancheng city. On June 2, Trina said a further 6 GW of panel capacity was planned at Suqian and last month the company said the Yancheng site would host 10 GW of production capacity for 210mm-wafer based cells.

The manufacturer reported it had 18.4 GW of annual panel production capacity at the end of June. Adding this year's expansion plans on top – plus the 8 GW module fab for Yiwu city, in Zhejiang province which was announced in July last year – and Trina is planning to have more than 50 GW of module production equipment and around 26 GW of cell lines next year.

The Chinese brand plans to ramp up production of high-powered 500 W, or even 600 W products based on 210mm wafers and next generation technology including non-destructive cutting, multi-busbars and high density cell interconnection.

The statement announcing the latest, 15 GW expansion bid to the Shanghai Stock Exchange read: “The signing of this agreement is helpful to enhance the company's core scientific research capabilities and further expanding the field of technological innovation. Meanwhile, it also helps to accelerate the overall renewal of the company's production capacity and product technology upgrades. It is in line with the company's long-term development strategy and the interests of all shareholders.”