Trina Solar the largest PV module supplier to India in 2017

Chinese giant boasted 18% of the Indian market, to be crowned the nation’s top dog for the third consecutive year. Canadian Solar, First Solar, Hanwha Q Cells and JA Solar also enjoyed a big export market from the rising solar power.

July 6, 2018 Preeti Verma Lal

Changzhou-based Trina is the biggest beneficiary of India's huge appetite for solar.

Photo: Trina Solar

With more than 1 GW shipped, Chinese firm Trina Solar was the largest PV module supplier to India in 2017, marking a 10% increase in deliveries from 2016 and adding to the company’s 3 GW of cumulative module shipments to India. Worldwide, Trina shipped 8.2 GW of modules last year.

The other four big module suppliers to India in 2017 were Canadian Solar, First Solar, Hanwha Q Cells, and JA Solar.

With an 18% share of the Indian PV market Trina, which entered the country in 2009, has been the largest supplier for three years on the spin.

Korean firm Hanwha Q Cells has 10% of the market, with China’s Risen and Canadian Solar boasting 7.6% and 7.4%, respectively.

According to analysts Bridge to India’s latest solar map, India added a record 10.4 GW of solar capacity in 2017-18, to take commissioned capacity to 21.346 GW at the end of March, with a further 8.185 GW in the pipeline. Some 9.171 GW of projects were commissioned in the last fiscal year.

“Of the cumulative 3 GW shipped to India, Andhra Pradesh (952 MW), Karnataka (551 MW) and Tamil Nadu (525 MW) have witnessed a spurt in demand,” Gaurav Mathur, Director of Trina Solar India, told pv magazine. “[This year] is a bit slow due to uncertainty in the market, but we have now booked some volume and the second half of the year will be good.”

Changzhou-based Trina Solar acquired nearly 90 acres of land at Atchutapuram in Andhra Pradesh to establish a manufacturing unit, but the plans have been put on hold.

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