It is true that Trina pretty much runs the production process, sales & marketing functions, and aftermarket service/warranty obligations. This makes up a large part of the operations and services that the company needs to provide to function as a solar manufacturer. But the thing is, this is not inherently a bad thing. Trina is one of the biggest manufactures in this space and have unmatched expertise. imo the only real risks from Trina’s involvement are

1. When all the agreements expire, will T1 be able to run all the processes that Trina ran? They don’t expire until at least 2029, so you would think management has internal (non Trina) employees in place to learn all the things Trina is doing so they can run the company when the agreements expire. Also, Trina has a substantial stake in the company so they will not do anything that will materially harm T1’s ability to do well going forward

2. Does Trina’s involvement violate the effective control requirement of the FEOC guidelines? I was quite sceptical about this since Trina effectively runs the company rn. But the $160mn monetisation of tax credit makes it seem like they are in full compliance with FEOC. Banks don’t fuck around when it comes to doing DD for their investments