Enel Selects Oklahoma As Site For Planned Solar PV Cell & Panel Manufacturing Facility
Enel North America plans to locate one of the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and panel manufacturing facilities in the US in Inola, Oklahoma, about 25 miles east of Tulsa.
Construction of the facility is planned to begin in the fall of 2023 with the first panel produced and available to the market by the end of 2024. The factory is expected to reach 3 GW annual capacity in 2025, with the possibility of a future expansion to 6 GW.
The over 2 million square foot, 3 GW factory represents a planned investment in excess of 1 billion USD, creating over 1,800 construction jobs.
Enel currently has a large presence in Oklahoma with more than 2 GW of renewable energy generating capacity, representing over 3 billion USD in total investments over the last decade.
Boston, MA – May 22, 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 site its industrial-scale manufacturing facility for innovative, sustainable and American-made photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules.
The factory, which is expected to have an annual production capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW), represents an initial investment in excess of 1 billion USD and is anticipated to create around 1,000 new direct permanent jobs by 2025. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2023, subject to final approvals, necessary permits and economic incentive agreements, and it’s anticipated that the first panels will be available to the market by the end of 2024. The project includes the potential for a second phase that would scale the factory to reach 6 GW of annual production, creating an additional 900 new direct jobs.
The planned factory will be among the first in the United States to produce solar cells, the fundamental building block of PV modules, and will incorporate a high-performance bifacial heterojunction technology (HJT).
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, unveiling in September 2022 the company’s new HJT solar module, which will begin production in September 2023. The double-sided HJT can secure higher than average energy production, producing approximately 15-20% more electricity than conventional single-sided panels, and offers significant efficiency improvements, with a certified cell efficiency of 24.6%. In addition, 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. In the near future, 3Sun will introduce its next generation tandem cell technology, which in May 2023 broke a record achieving a certified efficiency of 26.5%. The tandem technology utilizes two stacked cells that allows for more light to be captured compared to single-cell structures.
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 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