News

Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer has commenced the decommissioning of its South Australian manufacturing facility, as it makes way for larger, state-of-the-art factory.

The company has invested in a new $11 million assembly plant that will allow the company to significantly increase its output, with a capacity to produce up to 150MW of solar panels each year.

The original factory at Mawson Lakes in Adelaide’s north has been producing solar panels for the last decade. During that period, hundreds of thousands of panels have been manufactured for Australian and export markets.

The new factory, situated adjacent to the existing facility, will be capable of producing twice the output of the old factory. It is also equipped to make panels utilising M10 wafer (182 mm x 182 mm) based solar cells, which replaces the current G1 format (158.7 mm x 158.7 mm).

The factory in Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, has been making solar panels since 2011, during which time Tindo Solar has made in excess of 284,000 solar panels for both the Australian and export markets.

The new $11 million, state-of-the-art factory is capable of producing twice the output of the old facility, and is equipped to make panels with the latest high-efficiency ‘M10’ solar cell which replaces the current ‘G1’ cell.

Adelaide-based solar panel manufacturer, Tindo Solar, has reaffirmed its commitment to quality as consumers turn against cheap imports.

Tindo Solar CEO Shayne Jaenisch said the company – which is the only maker of solar panels in Australia – saw a surge in demand for quality solar technology during the pandemic.

Tindo Solar is one of the rare Aussie businesses that are actually making solar panels in our country. Most of the 3/4 of Australian homes that have solar, have panels that came from overseas (mostly China). A new round of funding under the Government’s Manufacturing Modernisation Fund, will see Tindo Solar receive $1 million for its state-of-the-art solar panel production facility.

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services’ ‘Turning the Parks Green’ program replaced Remote Area Power Systems (RAPS) at five National Park Ranger Bases during 2020-21, using high-performance solar modules made by Adelaide’s Tindo Solar—Australia’s only manufacturer of solar panels.

Seven of Dubbo Regional Council’s (DRC’s) facilities are currently installing solar panels, helping DRC save up to $70,000 a year in electricity bills. The installation will help Council in achieving its Energy Strategy goal to obtain 50% of its predicted electricity consumption from renewables by 2025.

Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar is confident it can compete with the world’s biggest manufacturers having received a financial fillip as part of the federal government’s $55 million Manufacturing Modernisation Fund.

Today @AuManufacturing’s editorial series – Celebrating Australian Made – looks at local manufacturers supporting the switch to renewable energies. Here Peter Roberts profiles Australia’s one and only manufacturer of solar PV panels – Tindo Solar.