Australian solar panel maker Tindo Solar has partnered with Melbourne-based online lender Moula Pay, providing access to short-term unsecured business loans of up to $250,000 which enable installers and resellers to increase their stocks of solar panels on interest-free terms.

Tindo Solar chief executive officer Shayne Jaenisch said the partnership will enable more than 1,000 eligible panel installers and resellers to buy solar modules from the Adelaide-based company and get up to three months free from interest and repayments.

Jaenisch said the finance package provides a solution to the working-capital problem that many installers and resellers are confronted with.

“It can be hard for our customers because the industry is so competitive that they must have stock at hand for their installations, or customers can easily go elsewhere,” he said. “And to secure their stock, they have to buy it. Holding just 100 panels can cost around $25,000, if they’ve got a lot of work, they’ll have 500 panels ready to go.

“There’s a working-capital gap in this industry and the business owners don’t necessarily want to put their family home up as security.”

Jaenisch said the finance package offer by SME lender Moula Pay is a great solution to the issue with approved installers now be able to access the interest-free spend limit to increase their stocks of solar panels.

“We get paid immediately and release the stock, and our customer has up to three months interest-free terms,” he said. “We expect a lot of our customers to use the finance.”

Moula founder and chief executive officer Aris Allegos said while the package would free up cash flow for installers and resellers, it would also enable “the utility of renewable energy products in Australia and build toward a greener future”.

“Accessing working capital and payment solutions for resellers is a key enabler to accelerating the industry toward this goal,” he said.

Tindo Solar, which earlier this year opened a new $11 million expanded production facility at Mawson Lakes in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, manufactures a suite of solar modules, including a 405w rooftop panel for residential and commercial use, and a 550w utility-scale panel for larger projects.

The new factory has the capacity to produce up to 150MW of solar panel per annum and is more than three times the size of its previous factory.