By Giulia Petroni
Italy’s Enel is set to invest more than $1 billion in an industrial-scale solar cell and panel manufacturing facility in Oklahoma, U.S.
The factory is expected to have annual production capacity of 3 gigawatts, the energy group said on Monday, adding the project envisages the possibility of scaling to 6 GW.
Construction should begin in the fall, subject to final approvals and permits, with the first panels possibly becoming available to the market by the end of next year, according to Enel.
“The planned factory will be among the first in the United States to produce solar cells, the fundamental building block of PV [photovoltaic] modules,” Enel said. The facility will be located about 25 miles east of Tulsa and create around 1,000 new jobs by 2025.
Enel selected the site through its North American subsidiary and its affiliate 3Sun USA.
Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com