Italy's Solar PV 'Gigafactory' Gets Underway

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Work is underway on a 600 million-euro (US$642 million) expansion project at Italy's first solar photovoltaic (PV) "gigafactory" in Sicily.

Italy's Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and representatives from the European Commission (EC) were on hand to officially kick off the expansion to the existing 3Sun production facility in Catania, which is being developed by Enel SpA (Rome, Italy). The 3Sun facility in the so-called "Etna Valley" industrial region of the island is already the largest PV plant in Italy with an annual output of 200 megawatts (MW) worth of panels but that is expected to jump 15-fold to 3 gigawatts (GW) per year with the new project and investment.

"This investment has strong political significance, which is that of liberating our country from foreign dependency, especially from China, also when it comes to producing renewable energy systems," commented Fratin. "Such independence is achieved through quality and innovation, through the ability to produce better, higher performing and more durable elements that are more easily disposed of and recycled. As in many other fields, Italy is not successful because it produces large quantities at a good price, but because it produces the best there is in the world. Production at the gigafactory is also in line with the government's commitment to increasingly and decisively install renewable energy plants, up to at least 8-to-10 GW per year which are essential to achieve the decarbonization targets that Italy has pledged to meet not only in Europe but also internationally. This state-of-the-art research is the key technological driver for a country that has decided to become Europe's energy hub."

Italy is still heavily reliant on fossil-fuels for almost 80% of its primary energy supply, led by imported gas (43%) and oil (30%), with renewables--mainly hydropower--accounting for 18%. Solar power is expected to grow rapidly through 2030, but Italy lags its European neighbors by committing to having a 70% share of renewables by that date--up from a much lower target of 55%. Wind and solar will dominate this big push and the government has set a target of installing 65-70 GW of renewable energy in the coming decade.

The 3Sun facility is producing double-sided--or bi-facial--PV modules that enable the panels to soak up sunlight from both sides. Hetero junction (HJT) solar cells combine two different technologies into one cell: a crystalline silicon cell sandwiched between two layers of amorphous "thin-film" silicon. This results in a couple of layers of thin-film solar that absorb extra photons, not typically captured by the middle crystalline silicon wafer of more traditional solar panels. Enel said that they can be cheaper to produce and more flexible in design, while efficiency is typically as high as 25-30%, compared to 20% for typical panels.

"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, in order to balance demands for energy security and independence with the demands of the economy, of the employment market and of the environment," said Enel Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Francesco Starace. "With 3Sun, we are practically demonstrating that in Italy, and therefore also in Europe, thanks to an innovative technology, we can now produce state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels that are competitive in international markets. Initiatives like this are what the future of energy will be built upon."

The project is benefitting from around 118 million euro (US$127 million) in funding from the EC. Ditte Juul Jørgensen, director-general for energy of the European Commission commented: "Europe's clean energy transition materializes through projects like this one. It will allow us to tap into the immense potential for renewable energy sources deployment in the area of Catania harbors, turning Sicily into a European leader in solar power production with high added technological value, and opening an international corridor for clean energy that not only Italy, but the entire European Union can benefit from."

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