The proposed production capacity is 3 GW peak when the plant opens and is to be scaled to 6 GW peak per year thereafter. Construction will begin next year and the first solar cells and solar panels should roll out of the factory by the end of 2024.
Sicily
Enel is Italy’s main producer of electricity and gas. Founded in 192, the listed company is active worldwide. For example, it sells electricity and gas to large consumers in the Netherlands, but it has also been active in the US for a long time.
Last year, Enel’s Green Power business unit received an investment from the European Innovation Fund to increase its current annual production of solar panels with heterojunction solar cells. Innovation Project Tango It will be increased from 200 MW peak to 3 GW peak. This is to be done via the ‘3sun Gigafactory’ in Catania, the second largest city on the island of Sicily.
Through an ambitious R&D program, 3Sun wants to develop more (heterojunction) solar panels and eventually an integrated structure that uses 2 stacked solar cells to collect more light. The combination of bifacial solar panels and a tandem solar cell system enables significant efficiency improvements, enabling the solar panels to achieve greater than 30 percent efficiency, the company says.
Possible locations
Enel is currently evaluating potential locations for a new plant in the United States. There are currently fewer than 5 solar panel factories in the United States with an annual production capacity of more than 1 gigawatt. President Biden’s Anti-Inflation Act However, investment in new plant has increased in recent times.
