(Yicai Global) Sept. 26 -- Trina Solar, China’s biggest solar panel maker, plans to invest CNY6 billion (USD838 million) further expanding production capacity to meet soaring demand for its photovoltaic cells and modules. The company’s shares gained.

Trina Solar has penned an investment deal with the Huai’an Economic and Technological Development Zone in eastern China to build a solar cell factory with an annual capacity of 15 gigawatts and a solar module production plant with the same output, the Changzhou-based firm said late on Sept. 23.

China’s solar firms have been setting out plans to expand capacity amid solid demand. Tongwei, the country’s leading supplier of raw materials for solar panels, said the day before Trina Solar’s announcement that it will spend CNY4 billion in its first big expansion into finished products, reportedly boosting its annual photovoltaic module capacity to 25 GW a year, up from 6 GW.

Trina Solar’s latest plan is divided into two phases, including the construction of a 5 GW cell plant and 10 GW module plant in phase one, which will be completed in 12 months, and the rest of the capacity in phase two, with the start date and building period not yet decided, it said.

Shares of Trina Solar [SHA: 688599] rose more than 3 percent at the start of trading today, but fell back along with major stock indexes to close 0.8 percent up at CNY67.83 (USD9.47) each.

Trina Solar said the investment in the Huai’an base will strengthen the company’s market leadership, expand the scale of advanced production capacity, and enhance its profitability and overall competitiveness.

Trina Solar’s first-half earnings report showed that its solar panel shipments reached 18.05 GW in the period, leading its global peers. Shipments are already close to last year’s 24.8 GW, with the company’s market share rising to 15 percent.

With more capacity being put into production, Trina Solar’s annual solar cell capacity is expected to rise to 50 GW by the end of this year, while its panel capacity will likely reach 65 GW.

Editor: Peter Thomas