Tindo Solar has announced it intends to increase in its manufacturing capacity more than six-fold, outlining plans to build a $90-100 million (USD 60-67 million) facility in eastern Australia that will be capable of producing about 2 million panels annually, equivalent to 1 GW of capacity per annum.
The South Australia-based company, which currently operates a 150 MW factory at Mawson Lakes in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, has yet to settle on a location for the new facility but said sites in regional New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria are being considered.
Tindo said the new plant, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2025, will have the capacity to produce 7,000 panels per day, helping meet the estimated 22,000 PV panels which the company predicts will need to be installed each day to meet Australia’s 2030 decarbonisation targets.
“There is a clear need for Australia to build sovereign capability in renewables manufacturing, and to ensure there is more Australian-made content in the vast amount of clean energy infrastructure required as we decarbonise our electricity system,” Tindo Chief Executive Officer Richard Petterson said.
As well as supplying panels across Australia, Tindo said output from the facility would be used to increase its export market, boosting Australia’s presence in the renewables market.
Petterson said the plant has been developed in response to federal and state government calls for more domestic renewables manufacturing and the scale of the proposed facility will help catalyse a domestic upstream supply chain.
“Governments across the country have recognised that now is the time to be putting in place the right mechanisms to make Australia a renewables manufacturing superpower,” he said, adding that government support is needed to help Australian companies to compete with international rivals.
“The United States’ Inflation Reduction Act and China’s ongoing support for its renewables manufacturers show that some level of price support, possibly through a production credit, is critical to help industry scale,” he said.
Petterson said this type of short-term support would unlock huge investment in Australia, create thousands of jobs and ensure the nation shares in more of the benefits of the global energy transition.
“We want Tindo’s gigafactory to be at the heart of this domestic strategy, supplying Australian-made, high-quality solar panels to developers and installers, while sourcing component parts from local suppliers,” he said.
Tindo said it is already in talks with local manufacturers of glass, aluminium and other components that would be needed to support the new gigafactory and has secured Letters of Intent from potential offtakers and has attracted interest from strategic partners.
Author: Aylish Dowsett
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