Enel Green Power has inaugurated the new 3SUN production line in Catania, a factory of HJT type bifacial photovoltaic panels, based on heterojunction technology which combines two different types of silicon, amorphous and crystalline. Approximately 80 million euros have been invested in this plant thanks to which the Catania center becomes the most automated photovoltaic production plant in the world.
Present at the inauguration were the president of the Sicily Region, Nello Musumeci, the mayor of Catania, Salvo Pogliese, the manager of Enel Green Power, Antonio Cammisecra and the manager of 3SUN, Antonello Irace.
Thus, the technological conversion plan of the 3SUN 2.0 factory, launched in mid-2018, is completed. The purpose of this project is to bring Enel Green Power's "La factory of the sun" to operate in a continuous cycle, 24 hours a day for 365 days a year and to produce 1.400 panels a day for a total of around 500 panels a year.
Photovoltaic panels with double-sided structure have an efficiency of more than 20%, a nominal power equal to 400W and are able to capture solar radiation also from the rear surface obtaining a greater energy production of more than 30%. This technology will allow theplant in Catania to reach a nominal production capacity of around 200 MW per year and to win the record as the most automated photovoltaic production plant in the world in which more than 300 employees work and with an associated industry of over 600 people. “The goal – says Enel Green Power – is to be able to overcome the theoretical limit on the use of silicon over the next five years, thanks to constant technological innovation, and achieve an efficiency of more than 28%”.
The investment amounted to approximately 80 million euros it was financed in part by European research and innovation programs (Horizon 2020), in part by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Region of Sicily and by subsidies for the development of the smart factory 4.0.
Antonio Cammisecra, CEO of Enel Green Power commented: “The start-up of this new production line is a significant milestone strongly desired by Enel Green Power: we believed in and invested in this highly innovative project, making Italian industrial excellence stand out on the global scene , especially in a competitive industry like solar energy. We will continue with our commitment to research and development of this technology with the aim of further improving its performance, sustainability and competitiveness, with the certainty of representing a global technological outpost in the photovoltaic sector"
