3sun

The solar module manufacturing subsidiary of Italian utility Enel is aiming to scale up annual production capacity to 3GW in the second half of 2023, the company has confirmed.

Italian utility Enel has been forced to close the solar manufacturing operations of subsidiary 3SUN after Italian government directives on 22 March 2020 ordered closure of all non-essential production facilities nationwide.

As the solar industry has grown from a 50GW market to 100GW in just a few years, the desire to have differentiated production has increased, especially for companies entering the market or repositioning strategies.

Leading PV manufacturing equipment supplier Meyer Burger has secured an order for its ‘SmartWire Connection Technology’ (SWCT) from an international solar module manufacturer in Southeast Asia for use with heterojunction (HJ) solar cells.

Enel’s PV module manufacturing subsidiary, 3SUN has outlined its ‘2.0 innovation project,’ which includes the installation of a new assembly line to enable the manufacture of bifacial panels.

Enel Green Power’s a-Si thin-film module manufacturing subsidiary, 3SUN is hoping to obtain a €14.1 million grant from Italy’s national agency for attracting investment and enterprise development, Invitalia to support the purchase of heterojunction (HJ) solar cell tools to switch production to the higher efficiency silicon technology.