Australian manufacturer strikes 15 MW solar panel export deal

Share

Adelaide-based manufacturer Tindo Solar said it has signed a five-year deal with the Australian arm of Vietnam-headquartered Thanh Do Construction Group to supply it with 15 MW of solar panels for projects in the Southeast Asian nation.

Tindo Chief Executive Officer Richard Petterson said the new $8.4 million (USD 5.45 million) export deal is validation of the company’s focus on the high-quality, high-performance segment of the solar panel market.

“This five-year agreement is a vote of confidence in Tindo’s employees, and in Australian manufacturing’s ability to succeed at the premium end of a very competitive market,” he said.

“Tindo internally invests in R&D and engineering to ensure we produce a solar panel that always outperforms the market.”

Petterson said Australians are prepared to pay slightly more for a high-quality panel and the company has identified the same premium market in other nations, including Vietnam where it has been fulfilling orders since 2019.

“If you start with quality, you get better power output and greater reliability over extended years of operation,” he said. “That gives you the best chance of abating more CO2 in the energy system than was produced in manufacturing the equipment. The Vietnamese market is aware of this equation.”

The agreement with Thanh Do, that is engaged in infrastructure, real estate development and clean energy projects in Vietnam, is Tindo’s longest-duration export deal to date and builds on previous export arrangements.

Tindo said the first shipment of 430 W rooftop solar panels to be exported as part of the deal will leave Adelaide later this month.

The panels are being made at Tindo’s manufacturing facility at Mawson Lakes in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, where it has the capacity to produce 360,000 panels annually, the equivalent of 150MW, at its manufacturing site.

The company has however outlined plans to construct a $100 million factory that could increase its output by 1 GW per year, with a significant proportion of that capacity earmarked for exports to neighbouring countries hungry to diversify their renewables supply chains.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

Popular content

New cooling gel could raise PV module efficiency by 12%
17 June 2025 An international research team has developed a hydrogel composite that absorbs moisture in solar modules overnight and facilitates evaporative cooling...