Trina Solar, a Chinese solar maker, has announced that they will open a 6.5 GW silicon solar wafer facility in Vietnam mid-year to supply the US market, as reported by Electrek.
It can be recalled in December 2022, the US Department of Commerce investigated and found four Chinese companies, including Tribal Solar, attempted to bypass US duties by minor processing in Southeast Asian countries before they ship to the US. It was reported that Trina Solar was conducting their minor processing in Thailand.
However, Trina Solar responded by saying that their sales, operations, finance, and management teams are all within Trina Solar US. They also assured that the recent findings will not affect their future regional plans, as well as their existing customers in the US.
Should the preliminary finding is confirmed, Trina Solar will be subjected to company-specific tariffs that will be applied in June 2024 the two year tariff waiver in June 2022 expires. With this, Trina Solar is subject to a 254 percent import tariff.
According to the Chinese solar market, their Southeast Asia cell and module manufacturing facility will use wafer capacity in Vietnam to meet their US market requirements. This will also exempt them from circumvention.
The company further asserted that they were already expanding production locations, arranging their business operations, and diversifying supply chains before the investigation of the DOC to comply with US regulations. They are also making efforts to minimize the tariff impact on their products.
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New Developments on the Way
Earlier this week, the company announced that their 210mm n-type I-TOPCon cells will be rolled off its e8GW factory production lines in the Suqian, Jiangsu province. These cells will be used to produce the next-generation Vertex N Modules, with power output of up to 605W, reaching 22.4 percent efficiency.
The Suqian facility started construction in July 2022 and the manufacturing equipment was installed at the end of November 2022.
Solar in the US
Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the solar market will grow over the next few years. Despite the fact that the solar market has been facing new challenges, such as trade tensions, the demand and market value will increase.
The Chinese solar market will continue to push for development on the way to close their deficits. This is a signal that they are aware of the potential impact of the new trade restrictions. However, they will do their best to supply the US market-even at a price. They are also firm in their push to dominate the global solar market.
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