Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer has begun to decommission its South Australian manufacturing plant to make way for a larger and most advanced plant.
Tindo Solar started producing Australian-made solar panels at its Mawson Lake plant in Adelaide in 2011 and has been the only commercial solar panel manufacturing plant in Australia.
Since its establishment, Tindo has produced more than 284,000 locally assembled solar panels with an equivalent output of approximately 82.5 megawatts.
The company invested 11 million US dollars in a new assembly plant, which will significantly increase the company’s output, which can produce up to 150 megawatts of solar panels per year.
Shayne Jaenisch, CEO of Tindo Solar, said: “We have competed against some of the largest companies in the global renewable energy sector, and we continue to grow.”
“We have an excellent team of employees who have been promoting the innovation and quality of Australian-made products, and we will continue this tradition when we move to the new location. This is an exciting time for Tindo Solar and the Australian manufacturing industry. .”
Jaenisch told RenewEconomy that the equipment for the new assembly line is currently being shipped to Australia and is expected to be delivered to the new location in the next few months.
In June, the company received a $1 million grant from the Federal Government’s Manufacturing Modernization Fund, which will be used for the cost of new manufacturing facilities. The new plant is expected to start operations before the end of 2021, and Tindo will increase its production of new panels throughout 2022.
Tindo said that the new plant will be able to use the company’s high-efficiency “M10″ solar cells to assemble solar panels and will enable it to continue to produce solar panels that meet higher quality standards.
The new plant will also allow Tindo to produce larger solar panel modules, including 400-watt panels for residential installations and 540-watt panels for commercial applications, in response to many customers’ preference for larger panels.
Tindo currently uses solar cells purchased from overseas suppliers to assemble panels, but Jaenisch told RenewEconomy that the company is interested in introducing more upstream manufacturing processes into Australia, including using locally sourced raw materials to produce high-efficiency solar cells.
The company said this shift will help the company reduce its reliance on China’s supply chain, which is increasingly difficult to work with.
Jaenisch said that he is pleased to see the company grow in a market traditionally dominated by supervised producers, adding that Tindo’s customers have been attracted by solar panels manufactured according to Australian weather conditions.
“We provide services to various clients such as the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, Dubbo Regional Council and GPT Group,” Jaenisch said. “They are looking for reliable, long-term solar output under any conditions. The panels they use are manufactured here in Adelaide.”
Jaenisch added that given Tindo’s ability to guarantee the use of an ethical supply chain when sourcing components for its panels, Australian companies have been attracted to use Tindo panels in their local projects-a guarantee that many Chinese manufacturers cannot obtain. .
The company said that the decommissioning process will take a week to complete, and the new manufacturing plant will be located nearby.
Last year, the company revealed that it plans to expand to direct sales of solar panels to Australian customers, and cooperate with clean energy finance companies to provide rooftop solar installations to households under an innovative “solar lease” arrangement.
Jaenisch said that the Covid-19 pandemic has complicated the company’s entry into the retail sector, but added that Tindo hopes to continue its strong position in the South Australian residential market and will continue to cooperate with distributors in other parts of Australia.