Gillard says Aussie solar plant dispels '2 big myths'

Prime Minister Julia Gillard opened Adelaide's Tindo Solar on Friday.

Manager Richard Inwood said in time the plant would be able to produce panels at about the same price as those imported from China, due to greater automation and innovation.

But he noted China's panels were still very cheap here, supplying about 85% of the local market, as they had been selling them worldwide under cost. They have been losing billions of dollars and have been found to have illegally dumped the panels into the United States.

Gillard said the plant dispelled two big myths that were "too common in our national debate".

"Myth number one: that there's nothing that we can do in the face of climate change; that there's no action that we can take," she said.

Australia had acted by putting a price on carbon and consequently changed the economic equation about where the nation got its power, she said.

"And that means ... that there are plenty of opportunities for clean energy businesses to come along and to fill that growing need."

The second myth was that Australia could no longer compete in the manufacturing industry.

Tindo, which can meet the solar panel needs of 15-20% of Australia, employs 12 people but plans to expand to up to 100 workers within three years. Inwood said China could not continue to lose billions of dollars and predicted there would soon be a change, which would benefit Tindo.

Source: AAP