The program will see the Commonwealth Government invest $1bn in the solar supply chain through  support including grants and production incentives. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Federal  Minister for Energy and Climate Change Chris Bowen, Federal Minister for Industry and Science Ed  Husic, NSW Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement Courtney Houssos  and NSW Minister for Climate Change and Energy Penny Sharpe will announce the initiative at a  special event at Liddell Power Station, attended by Tindo CEO Richard Petterson.  

He said, “this program has the potential to be catalyst for a domestic renewables manufacturing  industry, which will create thousands of jobs and ensure Australia enjoys more of the economic and  societal benefits of the energy transition. Our proposed gigafactory alone will create 250 jobs and  deliver $300m in economic benefits representing an excellent return for the taxpayer from any  Commonwealth support.  

“Today is also a major step towards Australia regaining its position as a leader in solar, utilising our  skills, knowledge and manufacturing capabilities to make the hardware that will produce emissions free electricity for homes and businesses across the country. 

“Tindo has been manufacturing high-performing Australian-made panels since 2011 and we want to  be at the heart of Australia’s solar supply chain, sourcing from local suppliers and selling our panels to  homes, businesses and utility-scale project developers across the country. Our solar panel gigafactory  can be the first step, offering the scale and volume that provides the demand pull through to attract  local investment further back up the chain. 

“We congratulate the government on stepping up – now it’s time for industry to respond by building  out local manufacturing capacity, and using Australian-made products on the GWs of projects being  rolled out across the country.” 

Tindo has a factory with a 150MW production capacity in Adelaide, where it has used Australian  innovation to make panels to withstand Australia’s harsh environment and they have been shown to  be best-performing in the market through testing at the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre.  

Announced in January, Tindo is planning a $100m gigafactory to be built on the East Coast of Australia.  The project would significantly increase Tindo’s production capacity, with the new facility capable of  producing 1GW of high-quality solar panels each year.