WILMER, TEXAS — Trina Solar, a solar products manufacturer and solutions provider based in China, has announced plans to open a $200 million manufacturing facility in Wilmer, about 16 miles south of Dallas.
Slated for completion in 2024, the plant will be located within Tradepoint 45 West, a 1.3 million-square-foot speculative development, and will be used for the production of photovoltaic (PV) Vertex modules as well as the sourcing of polysilicon, a key raw material in the production of solar PV products. The Wilmer plant will be Trina Solar’s first module factory in the Western hemisphere.
“We have long had a vision to manufacture solar products in the United States, and we are proud of the jobs we are creating and the investment we are making in the Wilmer community,” says Steven Zhu, president of Trina Solar US. “Trina’s goal in building this facility is to begin to create an ecosystem of American manufacturing that can serve the burgeoning U.S. solar market.”
“Trina will announce additional investments in American communities soon,” continues Zhu. “We are grateful to the State of Texas, Dallas County and the City of Wilmer for working with us on this exciting project.”
At full capacity, the facility will support 1,500 new jobs and produce 5GW worth of the firm’s proprietary PV modules annually. Trina Solar’s clients include large utility companies, as well as small businesses and individual households. Last year, Trina partnered with the affordable housing nonprofit Foundation Communities and Spear Commercial & Industrial to build a solar project on the rooftop of Waterloo Terrace, a low-income housing development in Austin, Texas.
Ridley Culp, Luke Davis and Matt Dornak of Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, a partnership between Dallas-based Champion Partners and Chicago-based Cresset Partners, in the lease negotiations. Forrest Cook, Jeff Rein and Seth Koschak, also with Stream, represented Trina Solar.
Trina Solar was incorporated in the United States in 2009 and has been active in the country and regionally focused since 2006. Trina Solar was founded in 1997. To date, the company has shipped more than 150GW of modules, with shipments of 210mm modules surpassing 75GW, to more than 160 countries and regions.
— John Nelson