A leading Chinese manufacturer of solar panels announced Monday it will invest $800 million in additional plants that will manufacture photovoltaic panels, Reuters reports.

Trina Solar's new investment strategy is for a three-year period. As 2010 ends, more than 70 percent of the globe's photovoltaic manufacturing capacity is held by Chinese firms, according to a research firm in California. China also hosts seven of the world's 10 best manufacturers of solar modules.

China allots handsome subsidies to the solar companies. Two companies, Suntech Power Holdings and Yingli Green Energy, have increased manufacturing, slashed prices and captured sizable shares of the solar market in the U.S. and Europe.

With U.S. headquarters in San Jose, California, Trina began expanding business and finalizing pacts in 2009. One pact has it providing Southern California Edison with enough solar panels to generate 45 megawatts of energy.

China represents an enormous obstacle for solar start-ups in the U.S., considering the massive competition. SpectraWatt last week informed authorities in New York it will shutter a plant in that state in March seven months after the plant was launched with a $50 million investment from Intel Capital. One-hundred seventeen employees will lose their jobs.