Trina Solar, the world’s leading PV and smart energy total solutions provider, has signed a Master Supply Agreement with MPower, which plans to have a portfolio of more than 30 small utility-scale solar farms and battery energy storage with total capacity of more than 200MW across Australia’s eastern states as part of a wider rollout of distribution connected renewable energy assets.

Trina Solar and MPower's Master Supply Agreement Exchange Ceremony, featuring, from left to right,
Andrew Zhai, Technical Sales Manager, Trina Solar Australia,
Ryan Scott, General Manager, MPower Group,
Amy Kean, Non-Executive Director, MPower Group,
Nathan Wise, Chief Executive Officer, MPower Group,
Todd Li, President of Asia Pacific, Trina Solar,
Edison Zhou, Head of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Trina Solar,
Andrew Gilhooly, Head of Utility Solutions and Storage for Asia Pacific, Trina Solar, and
Parnesh Chand, Project Manager at MPower Group.

The agreement Trina Solar and MPower signed today, at the All-Energy Australia trade show in Melbourne, covers the first five utility-scale solar farms and follows an extensive period of collaboration between the parties, which included detailed product testing. MPower is a technology-led clean energy company based in Sydney with a long history specialising in the delivery and operation of on-grid and off-grid power solutions for blue chip corporate and government customers.

Trina Solar was selected as part of a competitive global bidding process held by MPower over an extended period, to select a technology partner for solar modules and solar trackers for its portfolio of solar and battery projects.

Under the agreement, Trina Solar has agreed to supply an initial 39.5MWp of solar modules and 31.2MWp of TrinaTracker Vanguard 1P trackers for delivery in this year’s fourth quarter through to next year’s fourth quarter. The modules are the large format Vertex N bifacial module with iTOPCon (NEG21C.20) and the Vertex bifacial module (DEG21C.20).

The application of Trina’s technology to enhance MPower’s leading asset suite represents a major opportunity for growth within Australia’s multi-billion dollar renewable energy market, and supports the ongoing rollout of MPower’s renewable energy project suite with world-leading technology and solar component parts

Edison Zhou, Head of Trina Solar in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, says: “We very much appreciate MPower choosing Trina Solar as its partner. MPower is embarking on a journey to a substantial project portfolio and we are here to help MPower every step of the way.”

He says: “This deal demonstrates Trina Solar’s uniquely integrated solution, because this is a first-of-its-kind multi-site master supply agreement in Australia that includes modules and trackers within a simple, single arrangement from a one stop shop Trina Solar.”

Andrew Gilhooly, Head of Utility Solutions and Storage for Asia Pacific at Trina Solar, added: “The innovative contract structure under this arrangement enables MPower to navigate pricing uncertainty on modules and trackers with confidence over a prolonged implementation timescale, where individual project characteristics on the entire portfolio of sites may initially be unknown or uncertain. For the sub 5MW AC segment in Australia this is important for our customers, as it enables them to scale quickly and successfully execute more projects within a more expedient timeframe.”

“Only Trina Solar can offer such a streamlined contract structure due to our unique position as being the only supplier in the industry that can provide both modules and trackers. This unlocks a single unified contact point during contract negotiation and delivers superior assurance to our customers when their projects enter the after sales stage through single point accountability from the industry’s most bankable brand, Trina Solar.”

Nathan Wise, Chief Executive Officer at MPower, commented “We are excited to join forces with Trina Solar to further establish our market-leading position in solar power and battery storage, amid the ongoing tailwinds supporting the growth of renewable energy in Australia. With this partnership, MPower can accelerate the rollout of its Build Own Operate strategy with best-in-class components and technology, and build additional traction in what is shaping up as a multi-billion dollar addressable market opportunity.”

TrinaTracker 1P Vanguard trackers are compatible with modules from various manufacturers including Trina Solar’s Vertex 700W+ modules. The tracker also comes with ‘SuperTrack’ intelligent tracking technology delivering an additional yield boost, simulated by TrinaTracker’s Performance Engineering team to exceed 3.5% on those MPower sites with uneven terrain, through the avoidance of row to row shading, and has been independently verified to boost energy up to 8% on some projects.  Over 100MW of projects with SuperTrack has now been successfully deployed on TrinaTracker projects in Australia and New Zealand.

The tracker control system also ensures best in class resistance to the harsh weather encountered in Australia, through independent approval for deployment of our trackers in cyclonic regions, and rapid automatic stow in hailstorms which significantly reduces the impact energy of large hail and mitigates energy loss from glass breakage and cell microcracking on the modules.

TrinaTracker has also taken a collaborative and flexible approach to accommodating MPower’s requirements to reduce construction and maintenance time, which is a key concern in high labor cost markets like Australia.

This includes developing a split spherical bearing design to enable ultra rapid drop in place installation of the torque tube, and a one piece “TrinaClamp” solution which has been specifically engineered for the large format modules and reduces module fixation time by half.