A massive solar photovoltaic factory is on its way to North Texas, bringing with it 1,500 jobs and a $200 million investment.

Trina Solar, a China-headquartered smart solar products maker, announced it will build a more than 1-million-square-foot solar photovoltaic manufacturing facility in Wilmer, just south of Dallas.

The company said it’s investing more than $200 million in property and equipment on the project. When completed, the facility will provide 1,500 jobs, produce 5 GW of modules, and source polysilicon from the U.S. and Europe. 

Starting in 2024, Trina Solar said the facility will produce “innovative large power output Vertex modules using the state-of-the-art 210mm large size wafer and the most advanced technology in the solar industry.”

“We’ve long had a vision to manufacture solar products in the United States, and we’re proud of the jobs we are creating and the investment we are making in the Wilmer community,” Trina Solar U.S. President Steven Zhu said in a statement. “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 Solar U.S. president will have an office near the facility

Steven Zhu, president of Trina Solar U.S., will have an office near the Wilmer facility. [Photo: Trina Solar]

Zhu has lived in Austin for the last 10 years, the company confirmed to Dallas Innovates, adding that “he will have an office near the [Wilmer] facility before production starts.”

Trina said it has been U.S.-based and regionally focused since 2006. It incorporated in the U.S. in 2009 and has had a corporate presence in San Jose, California. Trina Solar was founded in 1997 in China.

Last year, Trina partnered with the affordable housing nonprofit Foundation Communities and Spear Commercial & Industrial to build a solar project in a low-income housing project in Austin.

Trina has been a supplier to U.S. customers, including large utility enterprises as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and households. It received a 100% bankability rating for seven years in a row by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and has been rated AAA, the highest rating, in the Module Tech Bankability Ratings report by PV-Tech.

Creating jobs in southern Dallas County

“As someone who has lived in Texas for more than a decade, I’m proud to bring Trina’s first module factory in the Western Hemisphere to the Lone Star State,” Zhu said. “This factory sets the stage for Trina to continuously expand business in the U.S. and show our customers that we are committed to providing best-in-class products. Trina will announce additional investments in American communities soon. We are grateful to the State of Texas, Dallas County, and the city of Wilmer for working with us on this exciting project.”

Wilmer officials said the factory will help the community advance.

“This manufacturing facility will be a shining example of how the Wilmer community will continue to thrive with the long-term commitment that Trina is investing within our community,” Wilmer Mayor Shelia Petta said in a statement. “It’s great to see that companies are reinvigorating manufacturing and creating workforce opportunities especially within Southern Dallas County as this region continues to explode with growth.”

Texas businesses, too, are looking forward to Trina’s facility.

“We’re eager for Trina to establish this U.S.-based facility,” Mark Rangel, EVP of Spear C&I LLC, said in a statement. “This factory will create sustained jobs and business opportunities right here in America, and enable us to deliver high quality and trusted products for our customers.”

Since its founding, Trina Solar says it has shipped more than 150GW of modules, generating green power for customers in more than 100 countries and regions. It says it is dedicated to “building a carbon-emissions-free world using responsibly sourced materials.”

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