Not made in China or owned by a Chinese company

 

"And another one bites the dust..."
Sad news that in Feb 2024 Q.Cells announced their complete withdrawal from the Australian market.
Q.Cells panels, Q.Cells inverters and Q.Cells batteries...gone.
Q.Cells products were primarily manufactured in South Korea although the original Q.Cells panels were German.

This follows LG's (another South Korean firm) withdrawal from panel manufacturing (Worldwide).

Solar inverters that are NOT made in China.
Fronius inverters are made in Austria
Fimer (formerly ABB and Aurora) inverters are made in Italy
SMA 3 phase inverters are made in Germany (single phase models in China)

Solar panels NOT made in China
REC Alpha Pure and Twin Peak panels are made in Singapore. The company is owned by Reliance of India.
SunPower Maxeon are approximately 30% Chinese owned. Their Maxeon model panels are not made in China.
The other SunPower 'Performance' panel models ARE made in China.
Tindo, assemble solar panels from imported cells/glass in Australia.

Silicon Wafers.
98% of the World's silicon wafers are made in China. Wafers are made into cells which is what makes electricity.
So even if you do buy a panel not made in China, its a sure thing that the main component inside is made in China.
It is also equally likely that many of the components inside non Chinese made inverters are also made in China.
A very interesting piece of information passed my way recently.
Huge new solar panel factories are rapidly being assembled in Vietnam.
So even the huge Chinese companies are taking some of their manufacturing out of their own country.
I wonder why?

How long will REC and SunPower be able to compete in Australia?
The departure of LG and now Q.Cells from Australia is worrying.
With half of the 'Premium' brands gone is that good or bad for those who remain.
There is always a market for non-Chinese made, premium priced solar but it's a small market.
Hopefully with 2 players now not 4, there's enough for SunPower Maxeon and REC to survive.

 

 

If you want a quote for solar with any of these inverters then call us on...

(08) 6102 2527

or email

These reviews were written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.
Most recent update April 2021