Enel & Sharp Enter Agreement For Development Of Photovoltaic Power

Enel SpA and Sharp announced that they have signed an agreement to form a strategic partnership in the photovoltaic sector. The Memorandum of Understanding provides for Enel and Sharp to carry out a detailed analysis for the construction in Italy of a plant for the integrated manufacture of photovoltaic panels using Sharp’s exclusive triple-junction thin-film technology. The output of the plant, whose size and structure is currently being assessed by the two companies, will mainly go towards meeting the rising demand for photovoltaic panels in Italy, South Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean basin.

Sharp and Enel.si, an Enel Group company, will develop photovoltaic fields with a total capacity of 161 MWp by the end of 2011. Once fully in service, the plants will generate more than 220 GWh of electricity per year, which is said to be enough to meet the needs of 81,500 households and to avoid some 110,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

The Sharp panels manufactured at the new plant will be distributed throughout Europe. Enel.si will also use the panels through its franchising network of more than 370 affiliates nation-wide in order to meet the strong demand from small and medium-sized enterprises and residential users. Furthermore, part of the output will be utilized to install photovoltaic fields in other countries of the Mediterranean basin where Enel already has a major presence.

Enel and Sharp have worked together for years on both commercial initiatives and in technology development. In particular, at Enel’s Catania site, work is currently under way to test new-generation photovoltaic concentrators using Sharp technology.