Trina Solar Co., Ltd., the world leading global PV and smart energy total solution provider, announced that the company has registered its 500 MW photovoltaic (PV) power project in Hegang, Heilongjiang province and won the bid for a 250 MW PV power project in Qiqihar, also located in Heilongjiang. Both projects have been included in the list of China's first batch of grid-parity PV projects.

In line with the policies put in place by China's National Development and Reform Commission and National Energy Administration to facilitate the development of wind power projects and grid-parity PV projects, the first grid-parity PV projects were submitted by the local energy regulators of 16 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, with combined installed capacity of 20.76 GW.

"After over 20 years of growth, PV power has become the number one power source worldwide in terms of newly added installed capacity, with costs associated with PV power generation having been reduced to one twentieth of the original level. Notably, technological innovation has been a major contributor to the significant reduction," said Trina Solar chairman and CEO Gao Jifan. "With its ongoing commitment to enabling grid parity via innovation, Trina Solar has continuously lowered the production cost and enhanced the value of its products through innovation in technologies, products and models, helping reduce the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and constantly contributing to the goal of grid parity."

Over the past few years, Trina Solar has been committed to providing customers with high-powered, highly reliable modules delivering even higher levels of electricity generation by driving the innovation around the upgrading of solar modules, continuously advancing the goal of affordable grid connected PV power. In March 2019, the company rolled out four next-generation series of P-type modules integrating multi-busbar (MBB), double-glass, bifacial and half-cut technologies. The best power output of a module with 144 half-cut cells reaches 415Wp in mass production. Specifically designed for the desert and snow-covered regions, among other high-reflection environments, the bifacial and double-glass modules provide high levels of durability and reliability, maximizing the performance in power generation on both sides of the panel, with a power generation improvement of 5 per cent to 30 per cent on the reverse side. According to estimates, compared with 370Wp modules, 415Wp modules can reduce the Balance of System (BOS) cost by 4.5 to 8.5 per cent and the LCOE by 2.5 to 4.6 per cent. Taking a 100 MW PV power project in China as an example, compared to 370Wp modules, the use of 415Wp modules can lower the BOS cost per watt by some 0.12 yuan and the LCOE by around 2.7 per cent.

In May 2019, Trina Solar's monocrystalline i-TOPCon cells achieved a conversion efficiency in excess of 24.58 per cent, setting a new world record in terms of the conversion efficiency in a laboratory setting for large-area TOPCon cells. The company has also launched the bifacial, double-glass N-type i-TOPCon modules. By using bifacial i-TOPCon cells with bifaciality of over 80 per cent, the best front side power output of a module with 144 half-cut i-TOPCon cells reaches 425Wp, and the best conversion efficiency reaches 20.7 per cent.

On top of the high-efficiency modules, Trina Solar's TrinaPro smart PV solution can further reduce the LCOE and create more value for customers. The solution combines the company's three key products: high-efficiency modules, the intelligent tracking system and reliable inverters in an innovative way that integrates innovation on the four levels: hardware, software, business process and cloud platform. Compared to PV systems with single-side modules and fixed tilt structures, the TrinaPro solution with bifacial modules can improve power generation by 15 to 30 per cent and reduce the LCOE by 8 to 15 per cent. In addition, relative to unintegrated PV systems with tracking support, the solution can help increase power generation by 3 to 8 per cent and lower the LCOE by 2 to 6 per cent.

Starting with the two grid-parity PV projects in the Chinese market with combined installed capacity of 750MW, Trina Solar will continue leading the solar PV sector in terms of technological and product innovation, with the aim of further reducing the LCOE and contributing to the goal of grid parity in the global PV market.