Trina became world’s third biggest panel supplier in 2020

Trina became world’s third biggest panel supplier in 2020

The Chinese giant overhauled JA Solar by moving almost 16 GW worth of modules, with the 600 W-plus, 210mm-wafer-based Vertex range it launched last year having already sold 10 GW of units.

Chinese solar manufacturer Trina Solar has published an impressive set of annual figures amid the Covid-19 economic carnage of 2020.

Despite the slowdown and delays to numerous solar projects worldwide, Trina achieved rising revenue of RMB29.4 billion ($4.49 billion) for year-on-year growth of 26%. The net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB1.23 billion ($188 million), up 92% from 2019.

PV module shipments hit 15,915 MW, slightly more than the figure recently posted by domestic rival JA Solar, to lift Trina to number three worldwide, behind Chinese peers Longi and Jinko. Trina has a claim to be the most stable business, in terms of shipment volume, as it has been ranked in the world’s top five since 2010.

More than 70% of the company’s revenue last year was generated outside China, with the EU accounting for 21% of income, the USA 20% and Japan 4%.

In 2020, Trina launched its large size Vertex PV module series, based on 210mm wafers, with the products pushing typical panel power output to 600 W or more. The company also founded and led an industry alliance of several key PV module manufacturers and related upstream suppliers who will promote 600 W-plus products based on the 210mm wafer instead of smaller conventional alternatives. Trina said global Vertex sales have already reached 10 GW.

The manufacturer said it reached 22 GW of annual module production capacity last year and wants to attain 35 GW of cell capacity this year–with more than 70% of it 210mm-compatible–plus 50 GW of module output. Trina has signed strategic purchase orders with cell, wafer and polysilicon companies to secure its supply chain.

A Trina spokesperson told pv magazine last year’s impressive performance was due to “Trina’s continuous technical upgrade[s], popularization of [the] 210mm-based Vertex module, deep internationalization, and [the] support of business partners, which all help … the company achieve sustainable increase[s], even in [the] hard time of 2020.”