Trina Solar announces production of 200 micron wafers
"During the quarter we commenced in-house test production of both multicrystalline ingots and wafers, and we fully reduced our monocrystalline wafer production thickness from 220 to 200 microns thickness in line with our stated goals to expand capacity while reducing costs as a vertically integrated solar PV manufacturer," said Mr. Jifan Gao, Trina Solar's Chairman and CEO.
Trina Solar is also planning a new polysilicon production facility as part of its vertically integrated business model. The first phase of the polysilicon production facility will have a production capacity of 3,500 metric tons and the project will eventually scale to a 10,000 metric ton production capacity.
However, the company reiterated that even with its own polysilicon production, it would still need to secure feedstock materials via long-term contracts. The company recently announced that Nitol Group would supply the equivalent of 200MW of virginpolysilicon to be delivered over five years starting in 2009, as well as a six-year polysilicon supply agreement with Sichuan Yongxiang Polysilicon Co Limited.
The company said it was still on track to meet its fully integrated capacity goals of 150MW and 350MW for 2007 and 2008 respectively.Trina Solar has also started commercial scale production of its new cell lines 3 and 4, which are currently producing at 100% capacity using 156mm cells with cell efficiency levels of 16.4%, according to the company.
Trina Solar stated that it had signed sales contracts representing approximately 100% of its expected module production for the first half of 2008 and 50% already allocated in the second half of next year.
