Enel says Oklahoma is top candidate for its US solar panel factory

 
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Italian utility Enel SpA (ENEI.MI) on Tuesday said Oklahoma was the leading candidate to become the home of a major U.S. solar panel and cell factory it announced last year.
The facility will be among the largest to produce solar cells in the United States, where most domestically-assembled panels are built with imported equipment. Enel said last year that it planned to produce at least 3 gigawatts of modules and cells per year, eventually doubling that capacity.
It also represents one of the biggest corporate commitments to solar manufacturing since passage of U.S. President Joe Biden's landmark climate change law last year.
"We have identified Oklahoma as the leading candidate and we are excited about the possibility to expand our presence in the state," Giovanni Bertolino, head of Enel's U.S. solar manufacturing arm 3Sun USA, said in a statement.
The Inflation Reduction Act includes more than $300 billion in subsidies to boost clean energy development and incentivize U.S. manufacturing of components such as EV batteries and solar panels. The law has buttressed a domestic factory building boom, and states are eager to land these investments.
Enel already has a significant presence in Oklahoma with a $3 billion portfolio of wind projects and an office in Oklahoma City.
In a statement, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said the state was "on the one-yard line to land one of the largest economic development deals in our state's history with Enel, a company that has been invested in our state for over a decade."
He said the project would add thousands of jobs and provide millions of dollars in investment to the state and called on the legislature to codify an incentive package for the project.
The company cautioned that it is still finalizing its search for potential sites and is considering land and workforce availability, transportation connections and tax and incentive structures.
Enel is considering a site in the Tulsa area.
"Oklahoma has the real estate, workforce and energy resources to meet the needs of Enel North America, and the Tulsa region looks forward to working with the governor and state legislature to seize this opportunity," Arthur Jackson, senior vice president of economic development for the Tulsa Regional Chamber, said in an email.
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