© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni holds her end-of-year news conference in Rome, Italy, December 29, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo
Exciting news from Italy! The country is set to invest in Enel’s photovoltaic panel factory in Sicily, aiming to elevate production and position as Europe’s major hub for solar panels. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shared this ambitious plan on Saturday.
“There are 90 million euros ($97 million) allocated for this project from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)… This investment will not only strengthen the current factory but also pave the way for establishing a new production line,” Meloni announced during her visit to the 3Sun plant in Catania.
With the goal of transforming Catania into a prominent center for solar panel production, the factory’s current capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) per year is expected to surge to 3 gigawatts (GW) by the end of this year, albeit with a slight delay from Enel’s original estimate in 2022.
Meloni emphasized the creation of 700 direct jobs by 2024 and an additional 1,000 indirect jobs through collaborations with companies linked to the 3Sun plant.
This initiative aligns with the EU’s push for renewable energy sources to reduce reliance on Russian gas imports. Meloni, assuming office in October 2022, is determined to revitalize southern Italy by boosting renewable energy efforts.
“We aspire to be competitive in this sector compared to our Asian counterparts,” Meloni stated passionately on Saturday.
In a recent development, Enel secured a 560 million euro financial package from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a consortium of Italian banks, fronted by UniCredit, to facilitate the factory’s expansion.
Additional funding for the plant will stem from the European Union’s innovation fund focused on green technology projects.
Rumors suggest that the energy group is exploring the possibility of selling up to 50% stake in the factory to potential investors.
($1 = 0.9273 euros)