Chinese solar equipment maker Trina Solar Ltd has expanded into Canada by striking a deal with solar module maker Silfab Ontario to make modules in the province, North America’s second-largest solar photovoltaic (PV) market after California.
Trina Solar said a subsidiary had signed an agreement for final assembly with Silfab Ontario, a unit of Italy’s Silfab SpA.
Trina said it would also open a sales and business development office in Canada’s most populous province, which provides big subsidies for clean energy.
The expansion in Canada comes at a time when solar companies are being hit by slowing demand, primarily due to lower subsidies in Europe — the key solar market — and a 50 percent fall in prices over the last year.
The company said it expected strong growth for the Canadian industry that could reach 1 gigawatt by 2015.
Another Chinese company, JA Solar, said earlier this year that demand growth in 2012 would come from new and emerging markets.
Shares of Trina Solar were up 1 percent at $6.10 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has lost close to 70 percent of its market value in the past 52 weeks.
