FREMONT, Calif. - March 4, 2022 - (Newswire.com)

In June 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) that prohibited entry into the United States of any silicon-based products that came from Hoshine Silicon Industry Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries due to allegations of forced labor.

After the WRO issuance, Trina Solar immediately worked closely with CBP to submit the information showing its supply chain contains no materials from Hoshine and its supply chain remains free of forced labor. As a result, Trina Solar became the first solar PV module vendor to have CBP release products from WRO detention.

Trina Solar expedited the products' release due to a strong risk management team and robust internal-auditing infrastructure. As detailed in the 2019-2020 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, Trina has been at the forefront of building a sustainable supply chain by:

• Sourcing only from limited suppliers, including directly purchasing polysilicon from dedicated wafer original equipment manufacturers.
• Setting strict management standards and welcoming independent third-party audits to ensure its supply chain remains free of forced labor, conflict minerals, and other unethical practices.
• Regularly auditing its supply chain partners to ensure their compliance with similar standards.
• Launching a powerful IT system that tracks all supplies and promptly provides full traceability documentation within days of a request.
• Participating in the development of the Solar Energy Industries Association's (SEIA) Solar Supply Chain Traceability Protocol, a set of guidelines for tracing the origin of solar materials to prove procurement is free of unethical labor practices.

These supply chain standards help contribute to the company's industry-leading Tier 1 bankability. Trina Solar is the only module manufacturer rated as fully bankable for six consecutive years by 100% of BloombergNEF's annual bankability survey respondents. Recently, Trina Solar received an "AA" rating in PVTech's PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings, ranking second among the top 50 global module suppliers.

Trina Solar has been the longest and most consistent manufacturer with this bankability status, allowing the company to build the infrastructure needed to institute an expedited response system. Without a swift reaction, and the capacity to support the growing solar market, other suppliers may face more difficulty proving to CBP that they use ethically sourced polysilicon, resulting in delays that will only slow down the country's transition to a carbon-free grid.

Why This is So Important for the U.S. Renewable Energy Target

Two decades of industry expertise and extensive bankability give Trina Solar the experience and capacity to quickly navigate this time-consuming and expensive red tape and provide the U.S. with high-quality solar panels.

Although installed PV capacity growth continues to surge, the current pace still lags far behind what the country needs to achieve its goal for solar to account for 30% of electricity generation by 2030. Increased urgency in tackling climate change means that the U.S. must install every available watt of PV power possible, not hold back development.

Over the past decade, renewable electrical production grew less than one percent annually, from 13.75% in the first four months of 2011 to 22.5% during the first four months of 2021. The U.S. added 27.7 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2021 — good enough for the second-largest year on record — but it's only 45% of what's required to stay on track for an emissions-free power sector.

The country must increase average annual solar installations from roughly 30 GWdc to more than 48 GWdc to generate 30% renewable electricity. Achieving this growth rate means the solar industry needs to deploy more than 700 GWdc to hit 850 GWdc — a 130% increase above the forecast from SEIA's Q4 2021 U.S. Solar Market Insight report.

This is where Trina Solar can help. It's no coincidence that Trina Solar had products freed from WRO detention before any other module manufacturer. This release emphasizes its ability to mitigate supply chain risks and help keep solar projects on schedule.

"By meeting the CBP's rigorous supply chain traceability requirements, Trina Solar is rising to the historic occasion to supply the sustainably manufactured solar modules needed to help the country reach its renewable energy target," said Steven Zhu, President of Trina Solar US. "Trina continues to serve as an industry leader not only in advancing PV technology innovation but also in building a sustainable and socially responsible supply chain and clean energy sector."

About Trina Solar

Founded in 1997, Trina Solar is the world's leading provider of PV smart energy and total energy solutions. Trina Solar is committed to bringing its product advantages to our global partners to accelerate the global application of clean energy and create a new world of carbon-free energy. For more information, visit www.trinasolar.com.

Media Contacts:
Robin Clawson
robin.clawson@trinasolar.com
or
press@brayermarketing.com 

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Original Source: Trina Solar First PV Vendor to Receive WRO Release of Products