Enel CEO Francesco Starace says the corporate is in talks with an unspecified worldwide investor about promoting a 50% stake within the new 3 GW heterojunction photo voltaic module manufacturing unit in Catania, which is scheduled to which is able to start operations in September.
Enel Inexperienced Energy, the renewables unit of Italian vitality group Enel, is presently in talks with an unspecified investor to probably purchase a stake of as much as 50% in a 3 GW heterojunction photo voltaic module manufacturing unit that’s presently constructed on the island of Sicily in Italy.
Enel CEO Francesco Starace made the assertion on the sidelines of an occasion to advertise the Catania manufacturing unit. He didn’t disclose any additional particulars concerning the deal.
In December, the Italian media outlet Milano Finanza reported that Enel requested the funding firm Rothschild to search out potential buyers for the sale of a 50% stake in 3Sun, which owns the manufacturing unit. The article additionally cited London-based renewable vitality service provider financial institution NextEnergy Capital as one of many potential buyers.
Italian Atmosphere Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and Ditte Juul Jørgensen, the director normal of vitality on the European Fee, have been among the many officers who attended an occasion on the manufacturing unit this week.
“With 3Sun, now we have virtually demonstrated that in Italy, and due to this fact additionally in Europe, due to a brand new expertise, we will now produce state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels which can be aggressive in worldwide markets ,” Starace stated.
The entire funding within the new module manufacturing unit will attain €600 million ($644.4 million), with the European Union and the Italian authorities contributing as much as €188 million to the TANGO mission (iTaliAN pv Giga factOry) . Enel Inexperienced Energy will first goal the European market, the place it’s essential to promote as much as 60% of its merchandise, as a result of situations associated to the aforementioned EU funding.
Enel Inexperienced Energy began building of the manufacturing unit in Might, which is able to end this summer season. The operational capability of 400 MW can be accessible for manufacturing from September. As soon as it reaches full capability utilization of three GW in 2024, the manufacturing unit will host 5 600 MW module meeting traces.
Presently, there are greater than 200 individuals working at 3Sun. This quantity will develop to about 900 individuals in complete.
“Not solely will the Gigafactory enhance direct employment, however it’ll additionally create a complete of 1,000 oblique jobs, together with present ones, by 2024,” an organization spokesperson stated. pv journal.
The photo voltaic cell manufacturing unit can be situated in the identical industrial space, within the adjoining constructing that hosts the 200 MW multi-junction, thin-film silicon PV module traces that Enel Inexperienced Energy changed with a 200 MW heterojunction pilot manufacturing line in 2017. The manufacturing capability of the cell will enhance to 400 MW in September 2023 and three,000 MW in July 2024.
The corporate is betting on the n-type heterojunction (HJT) cell with an effectivity of 25.5%. It says that it may end up in module efficiencies above 24%. From 2026, Enel plans to supply extra environment friendly photo voltaic modules based mostly on tandem silicon-perovskite cells. The ultimate merchandise are reported to succeed in efficiencies of round 30%.
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