In a documented filed with China’s securities regulatory authority on June 17, Trina Solar stated that it will build a new base in Qinghai for the integrated production of PV products. Provisionally named “Trina Solar (Xining) New Energy Industrial Park”, the base will be developed over multiple phases through a newly established subsidiary. The base will be located in the Economic and Development Zone of Xining, which is the capital of China’s Qinghai Province. Once fully completed, the base will have 150,000MT per year of production capacity for high-purity polysilicon, 35GW per year of production capacity for mono-Si material, 10GW per year of production capacity for PV wafers, 10GW per year of production capacity for PV cells, 10GW per year of production capacity for PV modules, and 15GW per year of production capacity for auxiliary materials and components. The development of the base is expected to start this year and set for completion in 2025. The total investment has yet to be disclosed.
According to the company’s document and the reporting by other media outlets, the development schedule of the base is as follow:
The first phase will install 100,000MT per year of production capacity for industrial polysilicon, 50,000MT per year of production capacity for high-purity polysilicon, 20GW per year of production capacity for mono-Si material, 5GW per year of production capacity for wafers, 5GW per year of production capacity for cells, 5GW per year of production capacity for modules, and 7.5GW per year of production capacity for auxiliary materials and components. The setup of production capacity will entail the construction of the plant buildings and the infrastructure that supports the production lines for the aforementioned products.
The second phase will install 200,000MT per year of production capacity for industrial polysilicon, 100,000MT per year of production capacity for high-purity polysilicon, 15GW per year of production capacity for mono-Si material, 5GW per year of production capacity for wafers, 5GW per year of production capacity for cells, 5GW per year of production capacity for modules, and 7.5GW per year of production capacity for auxiliary modules. Again, the setup of production capacity encompasses the plant buildings and the supporting infrastructure. Trina aims to complete the second phase by the end of 2025. However, the actual pace of capacity building could differ for each section of the integrated production base because the amount of production capacity that will be installed at a time will depend on the actual market situation. Hence, the development schedule and the amounts of production capacity for the respective products are subject to future revisions.
According to Trina’s document, the company has signed an agreement with the government of Xining for investing in this project. Trina stated that it will be taking advantage of the local policies and supporting resources for industrial development to scale up its production for N-type cells and related products. Besides gaining a stronger position in the market for N-type products, the company also wants to further pursue vertical integration with this new base. Additionally, the new base is expected to become the foundation for future growth and the development of new business ventures. All in all, Trina is undertaking this massive capacity expansion project to improve its capability to seize opportunities in the global PV market.