Cobalt Power and Trina Solar Announce First Commercial Installation of Trinasmart in North America

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Trina Solar, the Smart Module market leader, today announced that Cobalt Power, a leading PV system installer, successfully commissioned the first commercial-scale installation of Trinasmart in North America.  The 113kW system located in the San Francisco Bay Area is the first North American commercial project featuring Trinasmart modules, an innovative integration of Tigo Energy's optimizer technology into Trina Solar's industry-leading solar modules. 

"Our partnership with Tigo and Cobalt made this first-of-its-kind installation using Trinasmart modules possible," said Mark Mendenhall, President of Trina Solar USA. "We expect this installation to be the first of many that utilize these innovative modules."

Trinasmart was the right solution for this customer, who was building a net zero energy office building and wanted to maximize energy production from the available roof area.  The project, commissioned in November, uses 462 Trinasmart 245W modules to maximize the energy produced on the roof. 

"The Trinasmart installation went very well," said Mark Byington, CEO of Cobalt Power Systems Inc. "With the integrated smart module, there are far fewer components to install.  This allows us to take advantage of all of the benefits of module-level optimization without the extra labor and inventory hassle.  At the end of the day it saves us money and improves our bottom line."

The Trinasmart modules optimized by Tigo Energy are expected to produce about 3% more energy than traditional modules on this project.  The system also has enhanced safety measures with panel-level disconnect, and is monitored and managed by Tigo Energy's advanced software engine.

"We're really happy to be a part of this project," said Tim Kubes, VP of North American Sales for Tigo Energy.  "We have long had a vision to integrate our technology into the solar module to make it easier to implement smart systems.  This project is a great milestone."

About Trina Solar
Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL) is a global leader in photovoltaic modules, solutions and services. Founded in 1997 as a PV system integrator, Trina Solar today drives smart energy together with installers, distributors, utilities and developers worldwide. The company's industry-shaping position is based on innovation excellence, superior product quality, vertically integrated capabilities and environmental stewardship. For more information, please visit www.trinasolar.com.

About Tigo Energy
Tigo Energy is the market leader in smart module technology for the solar industry. The Silicon Valley company utilizes a patented impedance matching optimizer technology to increase energy production, simplify design and installation, improve fire safety, and ensure the highest uptime and reliability with cloud-based monitoring.  Tigo Energy's chip-based solution provides the industry's lowest part count, highest reliability, and most efficient smart module solution in the world. For more information, please visit www.tigoenergy.com.

About Cobalt
Cobalt Power Systems is a leading installer of commercial and residential PV systems in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California.  Cobalt has installed over 1,000 systems since 2003, and has received numerous awards for outstanding quality and customer service. For more information, please visit www.cobaltpower.com.

SOURCE Trina Solar Limited