April 13, 2023

Enel Selects Oklahoma To Build Planned Solar PV Cell & Panel Manufacturing Facility

Enel North America plans to build one of the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing facilities in the US in Inola, Oklahoma, about 25 miles east of Tulsa.
Construction of the facility is expected to begin in the fall of 2023 with the first panel produced and available to the market by the end of 2024.
The 1.5 million square foot factory represents a planned investment of approximately 1.2 billion USD and will create XX construction jobs, while supporting local economic development in the state through [statistic pending economic impact analysis]
The factory is expected to reach 3 GW annual capacity in 2025 with the possibility to scale up to 6 GW of high-performance bifacial PV modules and cells annually, making it among the first in the United States to produce PV cells of this kind. 
Enel currently has a large presence in Oklahoma with more than 2 GW of renewable energy generating capacity, representing over $3 billion in total investments over the last decade.

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Boston, MA – March 30, 2023 – Enel North America, through its affiliate 3Sun USA, LLC, today announced that it has selected Inola, Oklahoma as the location where it plans to build its industrial-scale production facility in the US for the manufacturing of innovative, sustainable and American-made photovoltaic (PV) modules.

The factory, which is expected to have a production capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) with the possibility to scale production to 6 GW annually, represents an initial investment of approximately 1.2 billion USD and is anticipated to create around to 900 new direct jobs at full scale by 2025. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2023, pending final investment approval and state incentive agreements, and it’s anticipated that the first panels will be available to the market by the end of 2024.

We are proud to usher in a new era of American-made energy and do so with a state that is already a leader in the energy industry. Our selection of Oklahoma is a testament to the strength of the Tulsa Port of Inola site, the state’s highly-skilled workforce, and attractive investment climate. With this announcement, it is our intention to build a state-of-the-art PV modules factory that will bring hundreds of jobs, millions in long-term tax revenue and usher in a new era of renewable manufacturing for the state.

— Giovanni Bertolino, head of 3Sun USA

The factory will be among the first in the United States to produce solar cells with a high-performance bifacial heterojunction technology, the fundamental building block of PV modules. 

Enel has been present in Oklahoma for over a decade during which time it has invested 3 billion USD to expand its footprint in the state, which now includes 13 wind farms and a regional office in Oklahoma City to support its growing workforce.

3Sun in Catania (Italy) is already a market leader in producing high-efficiency cells, breaking a record in 2020 by achieving 24.63% efficiency. Through an ambitious Research & Development program, the PV panels will be further developed to also incorporate a tandem structure, which utilizes two stacked cells that allows for more light to be captured compared to single-cell structures, yielding higher overall cell efficiency. The combination of bifacial PV panels and tandem cell structure offers significant efficiency improvements, which will enable PV modules to exceed 30% efficiency, securing higher average energy production. The technology’s lower degradation ensures a longer useful life for modules, and the cells’ high density is conducive to a variety of applications, including land-constrained utility-scale installations or rooftops.

About Enel North America

Enel North America, part of the Enel Group, is a clean energy leader in North America and is working to electrify the economy and build a net-zero carbon future by decarbonizing energy supply, electrifying transportation, creating resilient grids, and promoting a just, equitable transition. Enel North America serves over 4,500 businesses, utilities, and cities through renewable power generation, demand response, distributed energy resources, smart e-mobility solutions and services, energy trading, advisory and consulting services, and more. Its portfolio includes over 9.6 GW of utility-scale renewable capacity, 606 MW / 910 MWh of utility-scale energy storage and 76 MW / 174 MWh of distributed energy storage capacity, 4.7 GW of demand response capacity, and 160,000 electric vehicle charging stations. Visit enelnorthamerica.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube to learn more. 

Enel North America Media Contact:

Krista Barnaby, Head of Media
978-965-0062
NorthAmericaMedia@enel.com