Enel North America, through its affiliate 3Sun USA, today announced its intention to build an industrial-scale production facility in the U.S. for the manufacturing of sustainable and American-made photovoltaic (PV) modules. The proposed facility is expected to have a minimum production capacity of 3 GW with the possibility to scale production to 6 GW annually and is anticipated to create up to 1,500 new direct jobs by 2025. The facility is expected to be among the first in the United States to produce solar cells, the fundamental building block of PV modules.
"Recent policy tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act have served as a catalyst for our solar manufacturing ambitions in the US, ushering in a new era of made-in-America energy," said Enrico Viale, head of Enel North America. "With this announcement, it is our intention to bolster a robust domestic solar supply chain that accelerates and strengthens the US's transition to clean energy. In doing so, we are creating thousands of new jobs, supporting local economies and providing stability to the solar industry."
Currently, Enel is evaluating possible sites for the new factory and expects to begin construction in mid-2023. It's anticipated that the first panels will be available to the market by the end of 2024. Fewer than five large-scale solar module manufacturing facilities (over 1 GW) are currently operating in the U.S., while annual US solar PV installations are projected to grow from 16 GW in 2022 to 41 GW by the end of 2025, according to Wood Mackenzie.
