Australia’s only maker of solar panels, Adelaide-based Tindo, has become the solar PV supplier to Queenland’s historic Bowen Water Pipeline project.

The supply agreement between Tindo and Bowen Pipeline Company will see 30MW of Australian-made solar panels supplied to the North Queensland water project during 2026 and 2027.

The Bowen Water Pipeline brings water from the Burdekin River at Home Hill, south-east to Bowen where it will be used by the horticulture and agriculture industries, and by emerging green energy projects including biodiesel, sustainable aviation fuel and ammonia.

The pipeline will bring reliable year-round water to the Burdekin region, an area that grows one-fifth of Australia’s fruit and vegetable supply and is Australia’s largest winter vegetable growing area as well as a source of fruit and vegetable exports.

The project, owned by Bowen Pipeline Company, will use 52,174 Tindo 575W ‘Walara’ utility panels, and they will power the pumps and other machinery in the 182km project which is aiming to be Australia’s first ‘net-zero pipeline’.

Director of Bowen Pipeline Company, Mr Sean Brown, said the Bowen Water Pipeline would provide a large area of agricultural land with reliable irrigation, improving productivity and generating 1,200 jobs and economic growth of $300 million a year.

“We are delighted to be fulfilling our goals of utilising Australian-made solar panels and other Australian world-leading technologies such as onsite HDPE pipe manufacturing and fibre optic leak detection,” said Mr Brown. “The Bowen Water Pipeline is an ambitious project that builds economic growth in Australia and we want to use Australian expertise and equipment wherever we can.”

Tindo Chief Executive Officer, Richard Petterson, said Tindo’s inclusion in the Bowen Water Pipeline project was a vindication of the company’s commitment to quality. “This is a real compliment to our 60 employees who make the highest quality panel in Australia, right here in Adelaide. It’s a vote of confidence in Australian manufacturing.”

Mr Petterson said Tindo was happy to be included in a project that boosted domestic agriculture, supported growth and jobs in regional Australia and used Australian suppliers wherever it could.

“We’ve argued for a number of years that cheap imports come with a cost that is never counted, and that’s the carbon miles of the imported goods and the jobs that are not created in Australia,” said Mr Petterson. “The Bowen Pipeline Company is mindful of this issue and they’ll be extruding their own pipeline onsite and using Australian suppliers, including Tindo for the solar panels. Bowen Water Pipeline brings together farmers, indigenous landowners and business interests in a privately-owned water infrastructure project. We are proud to be a part of it.”

Tindo’s panels recently topped the CHOICE survey of 15 solar panels available in the Australian market. The CHOICE power output test revealed the 410W Tindo panel delivered 417W, while the other solar panels in the review produced less than the manufacturer’s claimed output.

“We make a panel that can withstand the Australian climate,” said Mr Petterson. “A panel must have a long life to be able to abate the CO2 that was used making and shipping the product, and we believe Tindo is a great fit with the goals of the Bowen Water Pipeline.”

Image: Bowen Pipeline