Lithuania’s Solitek to Set Up 600 MW Module Assembly Facility in Italy

Lithuania's Solitek to Set Up 600 MW Module Assembly Facility in Italy

Lithuania-based solar PV maker Solitek has announced that the firm will be now expanding its operations in South of Europe with Italy. In a key decision, Solitek will be building a new solar module assembly plant in Benevento.

According to reports, Solitek will have a capacity of 600 MW annually. The firm will manage funds for the new facility from different sources. Solitek will be investing about EUR 50 million towards the setting up of the module assembly plant and will also finance it via subsidies that the European Commission is currently offering for the renewable sector under multiple plans.

Solitek will manufacture solar modules in the new factory employing tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell technology. The plant will generate employment for 300 persons and Solitek will make the facility operational in the second quarter of next year. The firm has two manufacturing units in Lithuania.

One solar panel facility in Lithuania has an annual capacity of 250 MW. The other one has a capacity of 200MWh for batteries per year.

According to reports, Solitek is looking for expansion in the Italian market owing to favourable climatic conditions for solar energy sector’s growth and expanding agricultural industry which implies agrivoltaics market or agriPV. Many solar energy project developers have already entered the Italian solar market to end the country’s reliance on fossil fuels for power generation and combat climate change.

Italy’s Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies launched a EUR 1.5 billion program last year to incentivise agriPV projects in the country. The ministry wants to add 375 MW of solar installations on agricultural fields.

The installed solar energy capacity of Italy stands around 24 GW presently with most of the installations in Apulia and Lombardy regions. Italy has set its solar energy target for 2030 at 50 GW.