Trina Solar eager to expand in Phl
From being a utility-scale solar module provider, international solar energy solutions provider Trina Solar plans to deepen its foothold in the Philippines.
In a briefing, Trina Solar Philippines country manager Junrhey Castro said the company sees the country as one of the major growth areas for residential solar rooftop in the region.
“We have a strong presence in Thailand, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka. Each market has a different demand and different support for renewables. But there’s quite good demand and untapped residential potential and we see the Philippines as one of the major players in [solar rooftops for] residential,” he said.
Moreover, there is growing interest in tapping the residential market for solar rooftops in the country.
“Competition is getting tough but that is very much welcome. I think that’s a healthy. It opens the market to different players,” Castro said.
That’s why the company launched Trinahome, a plugand-play solar rooftop solution targeted towards residential and small to medium-sized commercial applications for distributed power generation.
This is not the first time Trina Solar entered the Philippine market. It has been active in the commercial and industrial rooftop sector where it offers a full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solution along with operation and maintenance (O&M) services.
“Trina Solar has solidified its strong position in the commercial, industrial and utility segment of the market, we are now moving into the residential and small-to-medium enterprise (SME) segment with the launch of Trinahome,” Castro said,
Currently, 76 percent of the Philippine power generation is sourced from coal, oil and gas, which are largely imported from overseas and are causing price volatility.
The country remains to have one of the most expensive electricity prices in Asia and electricity is a major expense for Philippine households and businesses with consumers paying about P8.50 to P9 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) a month.
Castro said this has presented the company an opportunity to replace fossil fuels with solar energy by focusing on distributed energy generation.
“The launch of Trinahome in the Philippines is in line with the nation’s target of becoming energy self-sufficient and having a cheaper and more reliable source of energy,” he said.