11 July 2011

3Sun inaugurates Italy’s largest solar panel plant in Catania, Sicily

Last week saw the inauguration in Catania, Italy of a factory run by 3Sun S.r.l. that will manufacture integrated multi-junction, thin-film photovoltaic cells and modules. 3Sun is a joint venture formed last August by Rome-based Enel Green Power (EGP, a company of Italy’s largest power firm Enel Group), Japan’s Sharp Corp and Europe-based semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics (ST).

In attendance were government representatives Raffaele Lombardo (President of the Sicily Region), Giuseppe Castiglione (President of the Catania Province) and Raffaele Stancanelli (Mayor of Catania), as well as Enel’s chairman Paolo Andrea Colombo and CEO Fulvio Conti, Sharp Corp’s president Katsuhiko Machida, STMicroelectronics’ supervisory board vice chairman Bruno Steve and president & CEO Carlo Bozotti, Enel Green Power’s CEO Francesco Starace, Sharp’s representative director & executive VP Toshishige Hamano, and 3Sun’s president Andrea Cuomo and CEO Mauro Curiale.

Initially with 280 qualified staff and annual panel production capacity of 160MW (which could be increased to 480MW over the next years), the plant is already the largest solar panel factory in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. The development was financed through a mixture of capital from the JV partners, funding from the Italian government's CIPE (Comitato interministeriale per la programmazione economica/Inter-ministerial Committee for Economic Planning) — which earmarked €49m for the project — and project financing with three major lending institutions (Banca IMI, Centrobanca and Unicredit).

Following the JV agreement last August, each of the three partners subscribed to a third of the capital, committing €70m each in cash or in tangible and intangible assets. The partners have also contributed their specific expertise: Enel Green Power, with the development and operation of plants generating power from renewable resources at the international level and the retail marketing of solar panels on a national scale through its subsidiary Enel.si; Sharp, with its unique multi-junction thin-film technology (already manufactured at its factory in Sakai, Japan) and the marketing of solar panels through Sharp’s subsidiaries in Europe; and STMicroelectronics, with its manufacturing capabilities, a staff highly trained in advanced technology sectors such as microelectronics as well as its competence in energy-saving power-management systems.

The factory’s output is intended to meet the demand of solar power markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), using both projects under development and the sales networks of Enel Green Power and Sharp. Also last August, Enel Green Power and Sharp formed a second joint venture, Rome-based ESSE (Enel Green Power & Sharp Solar Energy S.r.l.), to develop, build and operate photovoltaic systems in the EMEA area, with an output target of over 500MW by 2016, using panels manufactured by the factory. The panels will also be used on the 1MW solar power installation that ESSE will build on the rooftop of the new factory.

Enel.si (the Enel Green Power subsidiary that specializes in installing photovoltaic systems for the retail market) will also participate in the marketing effort, offering panels through its franchise network of more than 570 qualified installers throughout Italy.

See related items:

Sharp, Enel and ST form 3Sun for thin-film PV production in Italy

Tags: Thin-film PV III-V triple-junction

Visit: www.3sun.com