As AUD 34.5 million in ARENA funding begins to open up growth opportunities for Australian solar panel manufacturer Tindo Solar, pv magazine spoke with Chief Executive Officer Richard Petterson about the company’s expansion plans under the Solar Sunshot program and how it will address market and production pressures to maintain growth.
What does 2026 look like for Tindo?
“We were successful in our application for the ARENA Sunshot Solar program and have secured almost AUD 35 million in funding from the Federal Government over the next seven years.” Tindo CEO Richard Petterson said.
Petterson said the funding will support an expansion of Tindo Solar’s operations at Mawson Lakes in South Australia. He said production has already tripled last year, driving up unit costs. He added that the production credits included in the ARENA price help the company invest in scale and reduce product prices.
The increase in distribution channels and improved pricing have led to increased interest, Petterson said. He said the company’s value proposition remains focused on high-performing panels designed for Australian conditions.
How was your first year under the ARENA funding program?
“This first year has been interesting. It has been a bit of a challenge for solar panel manufacturers because the government has introduced a battery rebate scheme, but I think that is now changing.
“Like anything, early adopters acted quickly, because they are people who are already aware and don’t think should I do that or not, and they probably thought the payback period was too long. But now it’s a no-brainer, so all those people took action very quickly initially, but we see that this is reflected in the rest of the market.
“The reality is also that many companies focus exclusively on batteries, and not really with the necessary care. That’s why they sell a customer a 20 kWh or 40 kWh battery (there are some very large batteries in it), but they don’t fit their solar system, so customers can’t top it up. There’s something going on there.”
What are the consequences for solar installations?
“What’s interesting is that if you just look at the housing market, the amount of solar energy we’re putting into it hasn’t really grown much in recent years, it’s been quite flat.
“Replacement systems are coming and I think when that happens people will seize the opportunity to increase volume because you can now get a lot more solar on your roof and power output on the same footprint.
“I think the battery plan will drive that even more because all of a sudden consumers will say, okay, I’ve got a 4.5 kW system, I want a huge battery, which they need to have 10 to 15 kW on the roof to make sense. And what we’ve seen in Tindo’s business is driving sales in that regard.”
What about scaling up your production?
“We are scaling up production as the panel market softens, but despite this we have managed to grow our presence in the market because people really understand the value.
“What we’ve generally seen is that the part of the market that we’re targeting isn’t as affected by the economic ups and downs. It’s pretty stable investors or people who want to buy solar to improve their home, or strategically lower their cost of living, and things like that.”
How much currency does ‘Australia Made’ have?
“It’s a good question and it’s been asked more and more recently, and we think it’s very valuable to some people and it’s a small part of the market, maybe 5% or 10% of the market, that would say they definitely want Australian-made products.
“Most of the market is very much driven by price, so the way we position ourselves is we make panels on the market that have recently been validated by Choice Magazine, we make it for Australian conditions and it performs well, and it gives you the best return.
“Tindo products offer the lowest total energy costs over the life of a system because although it is a little more expensive upfront, you get much better performance, and we happen to be made in Australia.”
What are some challenges in expanding operations?
“I think when you try to take the next step in any business, you identify a few things that weren’t an issue before and I’m not talking about anything major for us, but there have been two things that are very exciting because when we got the grant, we also launched two brand new products in one quarter, and we’ve never done that before.
“They are also very different products: one is a white 440W back panel and the other is a completely black 475W panel.
“That’s a big technical challenge from a design point of view, but also from a production point of view, because every time you make a new solar panel, it takes some time to embed it and get the production result right.
“The production team has done all that and also increased our production speed, so we are on track with what we need to make this year, but when you really push the production team it will be interesting to see how they identify and solve unforeseen problems.
“The way it has worked out so far is quite good because it has allowed us to shake off the process and it has identified a few key areas where we have had to make some investment and rethink that process, but none of it is insurmountable.”
What non-financial benefits does having government support bring?
“Being supported by the government is very important and that also helps in the market. It creates confidence in investments. Besides the fact that we already have a good reputation that we have had for a long time, it adds another layer of confidence.
“In terms of the risk you have to take to expand production, having the production credits and the ARENA subsidy behind it is absolutely helpful.”
What is the process now with the ARENA Phase 2 feasibility study, to scale to the next level?
“We need to do that in the next 12 to 18 months to get to a financial investment decision, and we are working on that, but right now our focus is on making sure the expansion goes well, and so it comes down to how that will go and it will depend on the location, and it is still open to where we will locate and what we need to do from a technology point of view.
“The interesting thing is that the sector is moving so quickly that what was relevant a year ago is no longer relevant, so it will be a really important moment for us to be able to choose the right technology.
“The other part is that once we make a decision, the speed at which it gets to market will be critical. So if we’re doing a development that actually requires two years of planning to get the building done or the applications through, that’s a bigger issue than the technology.
“I think that’s one of the challenges we’re facing. Because there’s quite limited commercial space in Australia, we don’t have that much land and buildings, so that could be the problem.”
“The financing has been great, but we’ve also completely revamped our go-to-market strategy, so we’ve deployed a distribution network over the last 12 months and it’s starting to gain a lot of traction.
“We have made ourselves a lot more accessible, so buying Tindo solar panels should be easier to find and at the right price point. We look forward to that growth continuing.”
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