Jan 29 2011
Enel Green Power & Sharp Solar Energy (ESSE), a joint venture between Enel Green Power and Sharp, has completed the construction of its first 5-MW ground-mounted photovoltaic plant located at Serragiumenta, in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, Italy.
The new photovoltaic facility is constructed with Sharp solar modules. At full capacity, the facility can produce nearly 7.5 million kWh annually, equivalent to the power demands of nearly 2,800 families. With this capacity, the new facility will eradicate about 5,800 tons of CO2 emissions and save nearly 634 TOE in fossil fuels.
ESSE plans to build solar photovoltaic systems with a capacity of over 500 MW across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region utilizing thin-film solar panels produced at the plant being constructed in Catania. STMicroelectronics, Sharp and Enel Green Power are the equal shareholders of the plant.
The Catania facility will initially produce photovoltaic panels with 160-MW total capacity annually. It will then be expanded to an annual production capacity of photovoltaic panels with 480-MW total capacity in the coming few years, marking it the largest photovoltaic panel production facility in Italy and one of the largest facility in Europe.