Factory deal sign of China's US solar reach

Trina Solar US has secured $235 million in financing for its planned 1.35 million-square-foot solar plant in Wilmer, a small city about 15 miles south of downtown Dallas in Texas.

The company, a subsidiary of Trina Solar, which is based in China's Jiangsu province, will use the loan to construct and operate a solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing plant.

Standard Chartered, the London bank that arranged the deal, announced the "green" loan in a news release on Aug 7.

Trina Solar leased the space at Tradepoint 45 West to set up a factory to manufacture and assemble high-power solar panels and PV modules, a company statement said.

The plant is expected to be operating by year-end and provide 1,500 local jobs when at full capacity.

"We were thrilled to bring together this group of leaders and community members to celebrate our commitment to the City of Wilmer and the clean energy industry," Steven Zhu, president of Trina Solar North America, said in the company's first announcement of the factory.

"This facility represents a significant investment in American manufacturing that will bolster the US solar market in addition to positioning Texas as a leader in the transition to a sustainable future," he said.

Jerry Wu, CFO at Trina Solar, said in a statement that the project is "the first non-recourse syndicated project financing in the United States raised by a PV module manufacturer and renewable enterprise".

The factory capacity is 5 gigawatts, the company said.

A recent analysis by Reuters concluded that Chinese companies will have at least 20 gigawatts of annual solar panel-production capacity on American soil within the next year. Chinese companies account for about one-fifth of the solar factories announced since the United States adopted new climate subsidies under Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act program.

There are a few major solar panel projects underway by Chinese companies. Illuminate USA, a joint venture between Chinese solar equipment maker Longi and US company Invenergy, began manufacturing at a 5-gigawatt plant in Pataskala, Ohio, in February. The project is expected to employ 1,000 workers at full capacity.

China-based solar cell and module manufacturer JA Solar will establish a 2-gigawatt production facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Expected to be operational by year-end, the company said the $60 million investment will create 600 new jobs.

Another Chinese company, Runergy, is building a 5-gigawatt solar module plant in Huntsville, Alabama, which is creating 800 jobs.

Some experts say that China's presence in solar panel production on US soil will help the domestic solar manufacturing industry mature while creating jobs.

"They have a lot more experience building factories and setting up supply chains," David Feldman, a solar market researcher with the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, told Reuters.

Zhu told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year that the US market needs Chinese solar manufacturers for their technological know-how, ability to bring suppliers from China, capital, and appetite for investment.

China is a leading producer of solar energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that in 2023, 407-446 gigawatts direct current of photovoltaics was installed globally, and China represented 60 percent of 2023 global total installs.

While the United States was the second-largest market in terms of cumulative and annual installations, it lags with 26.3 gigawatts installed in 2023, according to the IEA.