News about Solar, Wind and alternative green power technologies

After having set aside 49 million euros in terms of funding by the CIPE (Italian Joint Ministerial Committee for Economic Planning) last week, it is now the turn of Enel Green Power, Sharp and STMicroelectronics which have signed a binding commitment letter in favour of a project financing agreement that will be around million euros. The equal share joint venture which is named 3Sun that have been put in place will begin its operations at the factory that is found in Catania (Sicily). Initially, the production capacity of the photovoltaic panels will be of 160 MW per annum. The green light has also been given for the ESSE joint venture between Sharp and Enel Green Power that will be concerned with developing solar farms that will in turn produce over 500 MW.

The initial photovoltaic panel production capacity of the Sicilian factory will be funded by a combination of self-financing as well as from the CIPE the (Italian Joint Ministerial Committee for Economic planning). The 49 million euros that has been set aside by the latter is being provided by leading banks. As it was announced beforehand, every partner has guaranteed one third of the equity along with a commitment of 70 million euros in cash or in terms of tangible and intangible assets. Moreover, each partner will hold one third of the shares in this recent joint venture.

Every partner brings specific skills and knowledge to 3Sun. While Enel Green Power has specialised know how in the development of renewable energy on an international level in addition to project management, Sharp, on the other hand brings its contribution through its limited triple-junction thin-film technology that is being produced since this spring at the Sakai factory found in Japan. Furthermore, STMicroelectronics has expertise in manufacturing along with extremely trained specialists in state-of-the-art technology sectors like microelectronics.

The factory’s production on a yearly basis is anticipated to reach 480 MW over the next years. As such it will become Italy’s largest manufacturer of photovoltaic panel from the very first day of operation. The production of the panels at the Catania plant has been set to start in the second half of year 2011.

A separate joint venture has also been created by Sharp and Enel Green Power, namely, Enel Green Power & Sharp Solar Energy – ESSE. The latter has been created to cater for the construction and joint management of the solar farms for the generation in addition to the sale of electricity in the Mediterranean area. This is done by using the panels that are produced by the Catania plant. By 2016, the complete installed capacity is expected to be more than 500 MW.

Furthermore, the factory output will supply the most potential solar markets in the Middle East and Africa, Europe, with a special attention on the Mediterranean region as Sharp and Enel Green Power already have widespread sales networks in that region. Enel.si which is a subsidiary of Enel Green Power that specialises in installing photovoltaic systems for the retail market, will additionally participate in the marketing and selling the panels by means of their own franchise network that consists of more than 500 approved installers which is located across Italy.

Source: Enel