Sharp Corp. has announced plans for a
$1 billion solar joint venture with Italian energy company Enel SpA, which produces and sells power to customers in 21 countries in Europe, and North and Latin America. The venture, to be established in spring 2009, will construct and operate a handful of photovoltaic power plants in Southern Italy with plans to expand to other Mediterranean countries. The venture will also include a manufacturing facility to be operated with a third, unnamed partner to produce thin-film solar cells.
The JV is part of Sharp's strategy to become an integrated solar power company, one that not only manufactures solar panels but that also generates and sells power. The Japanese firm, best known for its consumer electronics, has been
investing in solar power since 1959, when it developed solar cells used in satellites and light houses. It later invented the solar-powered calculator and eventually began manufacturing solar panels for homes and businesses. By 2007, about one-quarter of all solar cells were made by Sharp.
In addition to the JV, Sharp is developing one of the world's largest solar-generating facilities. The Osaka-based manufacturing and power-generation facility is slated to come online in 2011.
- Suzanne Stevens
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