Enel intends to build a manufacturing plant for photovoltaic cells and panels in the United States.
A gigafactory
Enel North America, a leader in clean energy in North America, announces plans to build one of the largest solar panel manufacturing facilities in the United States. It should produce at least 3GW and then increase to 6GW. The proposed facility will also be one of the first in the United States to produce photovoltaic cells.
Construction of the proposed plant is expected to begin in the first half of 2023. The first panel is expected to be commercially available in late 2024. The company announced the expansion of its 3Sun Gigafactory in Catania, Sicily.
This change had increased its production capacity from 200MW to 3GW. Enel intends to replicate the Gigafactory in the United States to produce bifacial heterojunction photovoltaic (B-HJT) cells. This technology captures more sunlight because the cells can respond to light on both the front and back surfaces.
An ambitious project
The combination of the bifacial photovoltaic panels and the tandem cell structure allows for significant efficiency improvements. This will allow the photovoltaic modules to exceed an efficiency of 30%. In addition, this increase in efficiency guarantees a higher average energy production.
Enrico Viale, Director of Enel North America states:
“The recent actions of the Inflation Reduction Act have served as a catalyst for our solar manufacturing ambitions in the U.S., setting the stage for a new era of made-in-America energy.”
Fewer than five large-scale solar module manufacturing plants are in operation in the United States. However, annual U.S. solar PV installation yields are expected to increase from 16 GW in 2022 to 41 GW by the end of 2025.
Enel says it intends to support a robust domestic solar supply chain. The goal is to accelerate and strengthen America’s transition to clean energy. The company hopes to create thousands of new jobs and support local economies.
