TL;DR: Founded in Norway in 1996 making polysilicon, split in two in 2012, sold to Elkem in 2015, and bought by India's Reliance in 2021. The manufacturing has been in Singapore throughout. That ownership history matters to anyone relying on a 25-year warranty, which is most REC buyers.
Norway, 1996: Silicon First
REC started as Renewable Energy Corporation, making polysilicon and silicon wafers rather than finished panels.
That is the upstream end of the industry, and it is worth knowing because it shaped the company. REC came into solar as a materials producer with a reputation for consistent silicon quality, then moved downstream into cells and modules as the market grew.
By the mid-2000s it had manufacturing in Norway and a large module assembly plant in Singapore, and it was one of a handful of genuinely integrated solar companies, controlling everything from refining silicon to shipping finished solar panels.
Australian installers picked up REC early, largely because a European-backed brand with consistent output was a rare thing at the time.
2012: The Split
The late 2000s crushed margins across the industry. Chinese manufacturing capacity expanded faster than demand, module prices collapsed, and being integrated from silicon to panel stopped being an advantage and became an exposure.
REC restructured in 2012 into two separate companies. REC Silicon kept the polysilicon business. REC Solar, based in Singapore, took the cells and modules.
The split let the panel business concentrate on module technology without the volatility of the raw materials market underneath it. That focus produced the TwinPeak series, built on refined PERC cells and a split-array design, and later the Alpha series using heterojunction cells.
Heterojunction is the technology REC is now known for. It holds output better as the panel heats, which is why Australian installers kept specifying REC as the market filled with cheaper alternatives.
Ownership: Elkem, Then Reliance
In 2015 REC Solar was acquired by Elkem AS, a Norwegian silicon producer then owned by China National Bluestar, itself a subsidiary of ChemChina.
That brought capital and research funding, and the Alpha series launched under this ownership with some of the highest module efficiencies available at the time.
In 2021 Reliance New Energy Solar, part of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, bought REC Solar. Reliance has stated intentions to build an integrated green energy business spanning manufacturing through to project development, and REC's heterojunction capability is the module piece of that.
Manufacturing remains in Singapore.
Why This History Matters to a Buyer
A 25-year warranty is a promise about 2051. Whether it is worth anything depends on whether the company making it still exists and still honours claims.
REC has changed hands three times in a decade. That is not unusual in solar and it is not disqualifying, but it is worth understanding what it means practically.
Continuity of manufacturing. The Singapore plant has run through every ownership change, and the product lines carried across. That is a better signal than the corporate history alone suggests.
Depth of the current owner. Reliance is one of India's largest companies with a stated strategic commitment to solar manufacturing. That is a stronger balance sheet behind a warranty than a standalone panel maker offers.
The counter-example. LG made excellent panels with excellent warranties and exited the solar business in 2022, leaving a large number of Australian warranties in an awkward position. Brand strength is not the same as commitment to the segment.
The Practical Test
Whatever the manufacturer's position, your first call in year eight is to the company that installed the system, not to Singapore.
An installer who has been trading for fifteen years and will still be there in another ten is worth more to your warranty than any change in the manufacturer's parent company. Ask how long the business has operated, whether it is REC-certified, and whether it has actually processed a warranty claim on these panels.
That last question tells you more than the corporate history does.
What You Pay Now
REC panels sit in the premium tier in Australia. Installed within a 6.6kW system, a 400W-plus REC panel typically works out around $800 to $1,100 per panel depending on installer, location and roof complexity.
That figure varies more with roof access and installer overheads than with the panel itself, which is why three quotes on the same panel can differ by thousands.
Key Takeaways
- REC began in Norway in 1996 as a polysilicon and wafer producer, then moved downstream into cells and modules.
- The 2012 split separated REC Silicon from REC Solar, letting the panel business focus on module technology from its Singapore base.
- Ownership passed to Elkem in 2015 and to Reliance New Energy Solar in 2021, with manufacturing continuous in Singapore throughout.
- A 25-year warranty depends on the manufacturer still being in the business, and LG's 2022 exit shows brand strength is not the same as commitment.
- Your installer matters more to a warranty claim than the manufacturer's ownership history does.
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