British solar energy specialist NextEnergy Capital is in prime position to buy a minority stake in Enel’s giant solar panel factory 3Sun, according to two sources close to the matter.
“We will make an announcement in the coming days,” Starace said on the sidelines of an event at the facility in the eastern Sicilian city of Catania.
In a post on LinkedIn, NextEnergy Capital’s Chief Investment Officer Aldo Beolchini said: “In Catania today, NextEnergy Capital is proud to support Enel Green Power in the reshoring of the photovoltaic supply chain.”
The English group was not available to comment on the matter.
The plant’s current production capacity of about 200 megawatts (MW) per year will rise to 3 gigawatts (GW) by July 2024, making it the largest factory in Europe, Enel said.
The total investment for the factory is estimated at 600 million euros ($646.20 million), of which approximately 190 million will be provided by the European Union.
The project to build new generation panels in Sicily is part of the EU’s effort to speed up the switch to renewable energies, to end dependence on Russian gas and help reduce dependence on Chinese solar materials .
“The renewable energy growth estimates for the next few years make a clear case for investing in the creation of a domestic production chain, which represents a strategic move for Italy and Europe,” said Starace.
The EU as a whole aims to reach almost 600 GW of solar energy by 2030, and the number of installations is increasing.
Industry group SolarPower Europe estimated in December that panels generating at least 40 GW had been installed in 2022 and growth would exceed 270 GW by 2025.
In November, Enel announced that it will build a solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and panel manufacturing facility in the United States in an effort to support the creation of a North American supply chain.
($1 = 0.9285 euro)
(Writing by Angelo Amante; Editing by Jan Harvey)
By Angelo Amante and Francesca Landini
