The US solar industry will soon be able to take advantage of home-made solar cells. Enel North America, through its subsidiary 3Sun USA, announced its plans to build a silicon solar cell production facility in the United States with an expected minimum production capacity of 3 GW.
Credit: Enel
“Recent policy tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act serve as a catalyst for our US solar manufacturing ambitions, ushering in a new era of American-made energy,” said Enrico Viale, head of Enel North America. “With this announcement, our goal is to build a strong home solar supply chain that accelerates and strengthens the US transition to clean energy. In doing so, we are creating thousands of -thousands of new jobs, supporting local economies and strengthening the solar industry.
The proposed facility could increase to 6 GW per year and is expected to create up to 1,500 new direct jobs by 2025. Currently, Enel is evaluating possible sites for the new factory and expects to construction will begin in the middle of 2023. The first cells should come off the line at the end of 2024.
Enel has commissioned the 3Sun solar panel factory in Catania, Italy, expanding its annual capacity to 3 GW. That plant produces bifacial solar panels. Enel intends to replicate the Italian facility in the United States to produce solar cell technology heterojunction bifacial.
See a list of US solar panel manufacturers here.
