Solar Frontier - Solar Panel Reviews

About Solar Frontier

Solar Frontier is a Japanese solar brand and subsidiary of Japanese energy giant Idemitsu Kosan. The firm was previously owned by fossil fuel giant, Royal Dutch Shell.

Contact Details

Address: Daiba Frontier Building 2-3-2, Daiba, Minato-ku, 135-8074, Tokyo, Japan
Phone: +81 3 5531 5626
Email: [email protected] 
Website

Company Info

Solar Frontier once manufactured CIS (copper, indium, selenium) thin-film solar modules. In 2011, its Kunitomi plant was fully operational, becoming the largest CIS manufacturing plant in the world with a capacity of more than 900MW. Together with two smaller plants, Miyazaki One and Miyazaki Two that had annual production capacities of 20 MW and 60 MW respectively, this took the company’s annual overall production capacity to over 1GW.

But in 2021 it was announced Solar Frontier was to commence winding down the operation of its production base in Miyazaki Prefecture, and by the middle of 2022 would ceased module production entirely. Like many other non-Chinese solar panel manufacturers, cut-throat competition from foreign imports was blamed for its woes.

The company transitioned from in-house production of thin-film solar panels to outsourcing production of monocrystalline modules.

Solar Frontier In Australia

Among Solar Frontier panels available in Australia were the PowerModule SF150–175-S series that offered one the highest conversion efficiencies of any mass-produced thin-film module at the time – from 12.2% to just shy of 14%. The 175W module measured 1257 mm x 997 mm x 35 mm and weighed 20 kilograms. Temperature coefficient of Pmax for this panel was –0.31 %/°C.

Warranty Details

Solar Frontier PowerModules had a 10 year product guarantee and a 25-year performance warranty; the latter guaranteeing the panels would have a power output of not less than eighty percent of nameplate capacity at year 25, minus 5% tolerance.

Some Australian installations of SolarFrontier panels would still be covered by the product warranty in 2025 - and all would still have performance warranty coverage. If you need to make a claim, try contacting the local company that installed them first before reaching out to the manufacturer.

While the firm's CIS modules are no longer available, check out the panel brands we currently recommend and those recommended by solar installers we trust.

What's been your experience of Solar Frontier modules? Leave your review.