ENEL Starts Work on Solar 'Gigafactory' in Sicily

Enel on Monday inaugurated the worksite to expand its solar-energy gigafactory in the Sicilian city of Catania to take its capacity up from the present 200 megawatts a year to three gigawatts by 2024.

The "TANGO", iTaliAN Giga factOry, project was among seven initiatives selected for the first batch of financing via the European Union's Innovation Fund for major works. It won 118 million euros in funding, the maximum available.

"Here we are laying down a factory paradigm, with a planning philosophy based on an Italian production chain that builds plants which we want to replicate in Italy, in Europe and, why not, around the world, to serve the European and global solar-energy market," said Enel CEO Francesco Starace.

"Europe must install (facilities) for 50,000-60,000 megawatts in the next few years and stabilize and reduce the cost of electricity.

"We want to be lead players and building panels with advanced technology is one of the steps".

(ANSA, February 6, 2023)