The Italian government announced that it will invest 90 million euros ($97 million) in Enel’s 3Sun solar panel factory on the Italian island of Sicily. Reuters reported.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited 3Sun’s factory in Catania, Sicily, on Saturday, February 3rd.
she quoted this Reuters “The National Recovery and Resilience Plan has provided funding of 90 million euros ($97 million) for this project, which will strengthen our current factory and allow us to establish new production lines.”
“Our bet is that Catania will become one of the most important locations for solar panel production.”
The investment is part of the country’s strategy to strengthen renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on imported gas.
The Sicily plant currently has an annual production capacity of 200MW, which is expected to reach 3GW by the end of 2024.
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This expansion will be a six-month delay from Enel’s original announcement of 2022.
The expansion is a response to the European Union’s calls for a rapid transition to renewable energy and independence from Russian gas imports.
Prime Minister Meloni, who took office in October 2022, has worked to promote renewable energy, particularly in southern Italy, to address long-standing regional economic challenges.
3Sun’s factory expansion is expected to create 700 new jobs by the end of 2024, and an additional 1,000 jobs indirectly through partnerships with local companies.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni added: “We want and need to be competitive compared to Asian players in this field.”
In January 2024, Enel secured a financial package of 560 million euros ($608 million) to strengthen the factory’s production capacity.
The financing was facilitated by the European Investment Bank with the support of InvestEU and a consortium of Italian banks including UniCredit, BPER Banca and Banco BPM.
Enel is working with potential investors to consider selling up to a 50% stake in the factory.
