Trina Solar has selected a local Malaysian OEM partner to develop 500MW of solar module capacity. The company announced that the cooperation remained on schedule. A report indicated that Trina Solar’s plans to build a manufacturing plant in Malaysia were opposed by a Malaysian government agency, yet the message could be a misinformation.

themalaymail online, a Malaysian online media, cited Ali Askar Sher Mohamad, chief operating officer of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority, claiming that Malaysia is “trying to protect its solar industry amid concerns that some Chinese companies are using the country as a transshipment hub to avoid US and European Union sanctions.”

However, PV Tech said the report is “misleading” as major tier-one producer JinkoSolar announced it would soon be operating a large new manufacturing plant in the nation and could have been accused of the same things as Trina Solar. PV Tech’s research shows that just under 1GW of new capacity in Malaysia was announced in 2014, and 1.7GW in the first half of 2015. In comparison, only 100MW of new capacity was announced for Thailand in 2014, yet already in 2015 that figure has topped 2.2GW.

In 2014, Trina Solar announced that it is selecting a sit for its first manufacturing plant outside China, and it could be in the Southeast Asia region. In May, 2015, Trina Solar announced that it chose to establish the overseas plant in Thailand, which an initial PV cell capacity of 700MW and module assembly capacity of 500MW. The Thai plant is scheduled to start operating in late 2015 or early 2016. Furthermore, Trina Solar has announced to establish totaling 2GW of solar and module capacity in India, while the plan is undergoing arrangement.

In Trina Solar’s statement, the company has formed a partnership with a Malaysian OEM company, and the module shipment is on schedule. Moreover, the company's goal of producing 400MW of solar modules this year as a part of this cooperation remains unchanged.

Jifan Gao, Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar commented: "The cooperation with our Malaysian partner is a key part of our localization strategy in Southeast Asia, and we are pleased to announce that it has been progressing smoothly.”

Many solar PV manufacturers choose to establish overseas manufacturing plant in Malaysia. Global makers such as First Solar, Hanwha Q CELLS, SunPower and Panasonic operate producing lines in the nation.