3SUN PV GIGAFACTORY (EIB-20220497)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Italy
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Catania, Sicily
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • European Investment Bank (EIB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jun 15, 2023
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
3Sun Srl (Enel SpA)
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Construction
  • Energy
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 471.07 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 428
Converted using 2023-12-21 exchange rate.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 471.07 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported EUR 428 million
Converted using 2023-12-21 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 734.12 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported EUR 667 million
Converted using 2023-12-21 exchange rate.
Media Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EIB website

Updated in EWS Mar 24, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Mar 20, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the EIB, 3Sun Srl, an Italian company ultimately owned by Enel SpA, will develop TANGO (iTaliAN pv Giga factOry), an industrial-scale production facility for the manufacturing of innovative, sustainable and high-performance photovoltaic (PV) modules at EGP's 3Sun solar panel factory in Catania, Sicily.

The project consists of the development of a PV module "Gigafactory" increasing the cells and modules production capacity from current 200 MW/y up to 3 GW/y. The module will leverage on existing building and facilities and with proper investments in a new building, by upgrading existing facilities and new high quality cells production and module assembly lines.

The Gigafactory will also include the upgrade of the 3 GW production line from HJT (Hetero Junction Technology), one of the current best technical solutions available on the market, to tandem silicon-on-perovskite technology, one of the most promising solar PV cell manufacturing technologies to increase the solar irradiation energy conversion efficiency beyond the theoretical limits of silicon.
The project entails innovation in the field of PV manufacturing which will result in GHG savings estimated in 25Mt.

The factory's expansion is set to result in a 15-fold increase in its production capacity to 3 GW per year from the current 200 MW. The 3 GW production facility is expected to be fully commissioned by 2024, making 3Sun Europe's largest gigawatt-scale factory producing high-performance bifacial PV modules.
This investment is expected to increase local direct and indirect employment opportunities, alongside acting as a catalyst for the relaunch of a European PV value chain.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EIB:

3Sun Srl is a solar cell and module factory of Enel Green Power, an Enel Group company. Established in 2010 in Catania, Italy, 3SUN is currently undergoing a transformation to become the largest high-performance photovoltaic cell and module production facility in Europe.

SACE is Italy’s export credit agency and insurance and finance group controlled directly by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. It specialises in supporting businesses and the national economic system through a wide range of tools and solutions to boost competitiveness in Italy and worldwide.

UniCredit is a pan-European commercial bank with a unique service offering in Italy, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe.

BPER Banca is the parent company of Italy’s third largest banking group in total deposits and footprint, with over 1 700 branches operating in almost all Italian regions, approximately 20 000 employees and over 5 million customers. In addition to its banks, the BPER Group includes a number of product factories and ancillary services undertakings.

Banco BPM. On 1 January 2017, two large popolari banks, Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano, merged and transformed into a joint stock company (S.p.A.). The Banco BPM Group was established: a solid entity, with 20 000 employees, 1 400 branches and around 4 million customers. Banco BPM, which is now Italy’s third largest financial services group in terms of assets, has a deeply rooted presence in the regions of Northern Italy, including those with the highest industrial concentration in Europe.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Banco BPM SpA Investor Finance
- - - - BPER BANCA SPA Investor Finance
- - - - SACE SpA (Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero) Undisclosed Finance
- - - - Unicredit SpA Investor Finance
Enel SpA Parent Company Energy owns 3Sun Srl Client Energy

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client - 3Sun Srl:

Website: https://www.3sun.com/en/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/registers/request-form/request-form-default.htm

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EIB

The EIB Complaints Mechanism is designed to facilitate and handle complaints against the EIB by individuals, organizations or corporations affected by EIB activities. When exercising the right to lodge a complaint against the EIB, any member of the public has access to a two-tier procedure, one internal - the Complaints Mechanism Office - and one external - the European Ombudsman. A complaint can be lodged via a written communication addressed to the Secretary General of the EIB, via email to the dedicated email address: complaints@eib.org, by completing the online complaint form available at the following address: http://www.eib.org/complaints/form via fax or delivered directly to the EIB Complaints Mechanism Division, any EIB local representation office or any EIB staff. For further details, check: http://www.eib.org/attachments/strategies/complaints_mechanism_policy_en.pdf

When dissatisfied with a complaint to the EIB Complaints Mechanism, citizens can then turn towards the European Ombudsman. A memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the EIB and the European Ombudsman establishes that citizens (even outside of the EU if the Ombudsman finds their complaint justified) can turn towards the Ombudsman on issues related to 'maladministration' by the EIB. Note that before going to the Ombudsman, an attempt must be made to resolve the case by contacting the EIB. In addition, the complaint must be made within two years of the date when the facts on which your complaint is based became known to you. You can write to the Ombudsman in any of the languages of the European Union. Additional details, including filing requirements and complaint forms, are available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/atyourservice/interactiveguide.faces

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