Trina Solar has announced that the Trina Solar Training Academy will arrive at the Lotus F1 Team headquarters in Enstone, Oxfordshire on 26th September.

The Training Academy is the latest move by Trina Solar to help the installer community in the UK address the specific challenges they face as the solar PV industry continues to evolve and grow. Through webinars and workshops it delivers product information, hands-on training, and marketing and sales support for distribution partners and installers working with Trina Solar products.

Taking place in the Lotus F1 Team Technical Centre, the Enstone workshop will be hosted by Rolf Wurtz, Product Manager Europe at Trina Solar. Attendees will participate in a practical training session, learning at first hand how quickly and easily rooftop PV systems can be installed using Trina Solar's Trinamount II and III solutions.

Mr Wurtz will also introduce the company's wider portfolio of innovative products and solutions, from its record-setting Honey technology to the Trinasmart power optimisation and monitoring system.

As part of Trina Solar's partnership with Lotus F1 Team, the product workshop also includes an extensive tour of the Enstone facility's Technical Centre. Participants will visit departments including Design, Aerodynamics, Research and Development, and Composite Manufacturing, gaining insights into many of the processes of a Formula One team.

The factory tour will also include a stop at the new simulator building, which is powered by a Trinamount solar PV system on its roof.

Richard Rushin, sales manager for the UK at Trina Solar, stressed the importance of initiatives like the Training Academy as developments in the UK solar PV market shift the goalposts for manufacturers: "It is not enough to just produce PV panels and let someone else worry about how they find their way onto roofs. Manufacturers must make more of an effort to understand the business needs of their installer partners, providing services that match these requirements."

Mr Rushin continued: "There are very few high-end manufacturers providing hands-on product training and marketing and sales support like that which Trina Solar is offering through our Training Academy. Giving installers and distributors this kind of assistance when it comes to increasing their competence and growing their business can only be a good thing for us and for the wider industry."

The Training Academy ties in with the Trina Solar Partner Plus programme launched in the UK in April. Partner Plus is Trina Solar's partner programme specifically designed to meet the needs of installers. Members who participate in Training Academy seminars and workshops stand to earn additional status points to convert into attractive privileges.