Mawson Lakes selected for new solar panel plant

Australia’s only solar cell manufacturing plant has started production at Mawson Lakes with an $8 million investment.

Tindo Solar will produce more than 300,000 solar panels a year at full capacity, equal to about 70 megawatts. This is equivalent to a small coal fired power station with a saving of 600,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

Manager of People and Business, Richard Inwood, said the company searched far and wide for a location that could offer a technologically advanced facility for their highly automated process. “We found the right building with clean rooms, climate control and an electrostatic floor in Technology Park.”

The main competitor is China but Richard is sure that a safe, superior product will appeal to the Australian market. “At capacity production we can supply 25% of Australia’s solar panel needs,” he said.

Competitive advantages include greater automation and improved efficiency with just eight employees for each shift. Key selling points are the panel’s safety features and design – the panels generate regular 240 volt AC power which provides greater output compared to the traditional DC voltage panels and each panel can be monitored via a phone app or the internet from anywhere in the world.

“Mawson Lakes has many benefits that appealed to us. It’s an attractive area with a ready workforce nearby, the proximity of a university and other innovative high- tech industries for business synergy plus the convenience of a town centre.”

Tindo is an aboriginal word from the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains (including Mawson Lakes) meaning sun. Tindo Solar is harnessing its energy to produce high performance, high quality solar panels that will last a lifetime.

Panels come with a 25 year warranty and the inverter has a 20 year warranty. In the rare event of a warranty issue, Tindo Solar is close at hand.

From this month Tindo will sell its panels Australia-wide through selected retailers. See adverts opposite for SA distributors.

A tour of the module plant is available for community and school groups and other interested people.

Contact Richard Inwood on 0428 606 420 Ed.