Vietnam’s location and investment environment are attractive to Chinese and Taiwanese solar PV manufacturers that have been finding ways to cope with punitive tariffs implemented by the U.S. and the EU. Recently, Vietnam-based solar manufacturer, Vina Solar, has respectively won contracts with GCL-SI and Trina Solar to develop 600MW and 1GW of solar cell manufacturing capacities in its homeland.

GCL-SI will have 600MW cell capacity

Due to the U.S.’s and the EU’s trade barriers set against Chinese solar imports, GCL-SI, a subsidiary of CGL Group, a China-based vertically integrated solar solution provider, announced to invest US$32 million in developing 600MW of solar cell manufacturing facilities in partner with Vina Solar in Vietnam.

Shu Hua, president of GCL-SI, commented: "The investment not only provides GCL System with cost advantage, but also helps streamline our supply chain by adding cell production into the system.”

GCL-SI and Vina Solar’s co-developed solar cell factory will include 330MW of PERC production capacity, while the rest 270MW capacity will be locked up for GCL-SI with an advanced notice.

“The PERC capacity in particular helps ease current shortage of high-efficiency photovoltaic modules in the Chinese market,” added Shu Hua.

GCL-SI’s global expansion includes capacity expansion overseas and product integration with its self-developed energy storage devices, E-KwBe, which is already unveiled in the Australia market and Thailand.

Trina Solar’s 1GW solar cell factory makes it the largest in Vietnam

With an investment of up to US$100 million, Trina Solar has completed a 1GW solar cell manufacturing capacity with Vina Solar in Vietnam. The factory was commenced fully operation on January 6, 2017, and became the largest-of-its-kind in the nation.

Vina Solar had signed to assemble PV modules for Trina Solar under a deal, so the solar cell factory is an expansion of their cooperation.

Trina Solar broke ground on the 1GW cell factory in May, 2016, and has initially put 700MW of capacity into operation in late November, 2016. The factory, featuring 14 production lines in total, was completely constructed in only six months and will soon ramp up to 1GW of manufacturing capacity.

“Our Vietnam cell factory is a new result of our global strategy following our cell factories in Malaysia and Thailand,” said Jifan Gao, President and CEO of Trina Solar. “The cooperation with Vina Solar marks a win-win situation as the factory brings cutting-edge solar technology to Vietnam as well as creates around 1,000 local jobs.”

(Photo: Opening ceremony for Trina Solar's Vietnam cell factory constructed with Vina Solar. Source: Internet.)