Solitek, a subsidiary of the manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses Global BOD, has announced intentions to construct a solar module facility in southern Italy.
“The facility will be located in Benevento, in the Campania area, and will have an annual capacity of 600 MW,” a business representative told pv magazine, adding that the first investment will exceed €50 million ($53.4 million).
The Lithuanian maker of solar modules stated that the plant will create solar panels for use in agrivoltaics.
“Italy’s agriculture-friendly climate provides a good setting for agro-installations, which is a big benefit compared to Northern Europe, where the window for agro-installation usage is quite limited,” added Solitek. “By operating a manufacturing facility in Southern Europe, Solitek will be able to avoid changes in production capacity throughout the winter, when solar panels in Northern Europe cannot be utilised.”
The facility is anticipated to commence production during the second quarter of 2024. Moreover, it will produce 1 GWh of home battery capacity per year at an undefined later date. “During the slow building of the new production plant and after its establishment, Solitek expects to create up to 300 jobs, rejuvenate a region with low unemployment, and attract further foreign and local investments,”
In Lithuania, the firm now runs a 180 Megawatt module manufacturing. It has introduced a 40-cell solar panel with 12.6% power conversion efficiency for agrivoltaic applications. The highest system voltage at which the module may function is 1,500 V. Solitek stated that the panels were utilised in a 1.5 MW rooftop agrivoltaic installation in Malaysia.
As part of its €220 billion post-pandemic recovery strategy, the Italian government is presently supporting agrivoltaics with a €1.1 billion initiative.
