Trina Solar expands into South Africa with new distribution facility

13th July 2021 By: Simone Liedtke - Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

Trina Solar expands into South Africa with new distribution facility

Solar photovoltaic (PV) and energy solutions provider Trina Solar will be launching a new distribution facility in South Africa.

The expansion, the company says in a statement on July 13, comes as a step that further “caters to the company’s overarching expansion strategy to grow in the region”.

The new facility is part of Trina Solar’s commitment to further increase its footprint and presence in Africa to cater to the rapidly growing demand for solar energy in generating power for residential, commercial and industrial needs, in addition to the farming and agriculture sector’s requirements.

Trina Solar Middle East and Africa MD and VP Antonio Jimenez says that, with South Africa having the best structured solar market in sub-Saharan Africa and being home to its largest commercial and industrial market, the company is confident that making its products available locally will enable it to become a provider of preference for its customers.

“Our new opening will further add to our growing footprint in the African continent, which allows our customers to find the product locally through our network of reseller and distributors,” he comments.

South Africa is a strategic market for solar energy consumption and, as the company moves forward with its growth strategy in the Middle East and Africa, it intends on becoming a key player in the solar energy market in Africa by focusing on bringing “cutting edge technology and innovation to the region with reliable products of the highest quality standards, coupled with unparalleled customer-centric service”, Jimenez adds.

The expansion into the country follows as South Africa has shown great progress in the development of its solar energy markets recently. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has resumed its Renewable Energy Independent Power Product Procurement Programme, which will require several gigawatts of solar panels.

The country is also taking steps to amend the Electricity Regulation Act to raise the licensing-exemption threshold for distributed generation projects to 100 MW. Many mines and industrial companies have expressed an interest in investing in solar capacity to produce electricity for their own use.

Trina Solar currently has over 66 GW of module shipments worldwide with more than 5 GW of accumulative grid connections and is also proudly responsible for setting 20 world records for silicon cell efficiency and solar module power output since 2011.