China is the primary source for solar panels worldwide, producing over 60% of the world’s solar photovoltaics (PV). While the PV industry hasn’t completely dodged the impacts of the pandemic, the solar market is expected to achieve record installations and developments in 2020. Trina Solar, one of the leading solar panel manufacturers across the globe, has announced plans for solar expansion at its factory in Jiangsu province, with JA Solar and ZNshine Solar to follow suit. This exciting news is great for US solar development, as it keeps the supply-demand up and costs down, even during this difficult time. 

Trina Solar shared its plan to expand cell production output by 10 GW. The global leader of solar solutions, known for their innovation and dedication to sustainability, said it will use this new capacity to produce cells compatible with 210 mm wafers. The goal is for 26 GW of solar capacity by the end of 2021, with 70% devoted to 210 mm size wafers. This ingenious plan will roll out in two phases. The first phase will deploy 7.6 GW of new production lines, and in the second phase, it will retrofit 2.4 GW of its existing capacity at the current site to accommodate 210 mm wafers. Trina Solar will invest over CNY 3 billion and CNY 800 million to achieve these ambitious goals. 

JA Solar announced a strategy aimed to ramp up wafer production by 20 GW. The high-performance PV production company signed a contract with the municipal government of Qujing looking to deploy 20 GW of wafer production capacity. Their capacity expansion plan will spend CNY5.8 billion to achieve this. 

ZNshine Solar’s expansion plan includes bolstering its PV module output capacity by 10 GW or more. The solar module manufacturer will build a new production facility in Suqian to help achieve this objective and will roll out its expansion plan in two phases, similar to Trina Solar. The first phase deploys a total capacity of 4 GW by the end of November and the second phase will add another 6 GW by the end of 2021.     

This news comes at an integral point in the PV industry. The market has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis but continues to chug along with these exciting advancements and expansion plans from some of the biggest names in solar production. At Intersect Energy, we look forward to seeing this continued growth. If you’re interested in lowering your facility’s energy costs and utilizing highly desirable clean energy, contact us today. To stay up-to-date with all the latest solar news, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.