Chinese solar supplier Trina plans $200 million US factory

Trina Solar Co. is planning a $200 million manufacturing facility in Texas, weeks after the US said the Chinese panel supplier was bypassing tariffs. 

The site will be able to make about 5 gigawatts of panels a year using polysilicon sourced in the US and Europe, according to a statement Monday. Production is expected to begin in 2024. 

President Joe Biden’s sweeping climate law is spurring a boom in domestic solar manufacturing as international companies establish facilities in the US to qualify for incentives. Trina’s announcement also comes as the Commerce Department steps up efforts to enforce trade policies for imported solar panels. Trina was one of five companies that were singled out for circumventing tariffs in an August report. 

“Trina’s goal in building this facility is to begin to create an ecosystem of American manufacturing that can serve the burgeoning US solar market,” Steven Zhu, president of Trina’s US unit, said in the statement.