Adelaide-based Tindo Solar has a new $11 million state-of-the-art solar panel production factory. It has double the output of its previous plant and is equipped to make panels using the latest high-efficiency M10 wafer-based solar cells.
TindoSolar takes a synergistic approach to its products, carefully forming partnerships with manufacturers to produce whole panels that are more than the sum of their parts. It results in high-quality, reliable and durable solar panels.
Quality
Named after the Kaurna Warra Aboriginal word for ‘Sun’, Tindo Solar designs and manufactures technologically advanced solar panels in Australia, for Australia. They are an Australian-owned company, and all of their research & development is done in Adelaide. Tindo has positioned itself as a premium local manufacturer aimed at the upper end of the market. It has been difficult as cheap Chinese manufacturers dominate the industry, but Tindo’s focus on quality has paid off.
Unlike some Chinese panel makers, who make all their components, Tindo has established critical partnerships along the value chain for their products. They can import high-quality components from reputable suppliers such as Q-cells solar cells, DuPont back sheets, Bridgestone EVAsky encapsulant, Dow Corning edge seals and FPE junction boxes. They also use module-level Enecsys DC-AC micro-inverters, allowing them to eliminate the need for central system inverters.
This combination of superior design and the highest quality components gives the Karra 66 solar panel its world-beating performance. According to Tindo Solar, the board achieves a 0.07% CTM loss and 23.1% cell efficiency, making it one of the best panels on the market for home solar. We are proud to be a certified TindoSolar installer and offer their 25-year product warranty alongside our standard 12-year system warranty.
Tindo’s quality isn’t just limited to its panels; they are also focused on ethical business practices and environmental sustainability. They work with various partners to repurpose second-hand panels for social and environmental initiatives. They also aim to reduce the waste sent to landfills through a partnership with an Adelaide company that can recycle 98 per cent of a solar panel. They have also become a signatory to the UN Global Compact, which requires companies to operate ethically and avoid corrupt or forced labour in their supply chains.
The company focuses on producing premium Australian-made products, and the original factory, located 12 km north of Adelaide’s city centre in Technology Park, is one of Australia’s most advanced solar panel manufacturing plants. Tindo Solar’s panels have outperformed their competition on durability, defining what ‘Australian Made’ should stand for.
In addition to focusing on quality, the company is committed to reducing its environmental footprint. It has partnered with Reclaim PV to develop an end-of-life recycling solution to eliminate more than 100,000 tonnes of used solar panels entering Australia’s waste stream each year.
As part of its sustainability initiatives, Tindo Solar strives to reduce its facilities’ energy usage and increase its modules’ efficiency. Its new factory, currently under construction in Mawson Lakes, will be equipped to use the M10 wafer. This larger half-cut cell produces more power for a given module size and should make the company more price competitive.
Tindo’s Karra series solar panels are subjected to extensive testing during production to ensure their suitability for commercial applications and the harsh Australian climate. The glass, film and junction boxes are all put through the wringer to establish their reliability under extreme conditions. The panels are inspected with an Electroluminescence (EL) tester, a diagnostic tool that detects cracks and other defects in the cells that could otherwise reduce the panel output.
After rigorous testing, the panels are assembled into modules in Mawson Lakes and shipped to installers around Australia. TindoSolar is the only Australian-owned manufacturer that produces its solar panels in Australia, and the company’s products have been a hit with homeowners and commercial customers alike. For example, Tindo Solar’s Karra modules were selected to power the first 100 rental accommodation homes owned by the not-for-profit Unity Housing Company in South Australia.