The first solar power plant was launched in Italy

In Italy is to be opened the country's first solar power plant. It is located in Calabria in the south of the country. It was created by Japanese corporation Sharp and Italian energy giant Enel department - Enel Green Power company. Power Plant is located in the town on Serragimenta in the territory of 12 hectares.

Capacity of the new station will be about 7.5-million kilowatt-hours per year. That's enough to provide electricity for 2,800 households.
To build the first solar power plant in Italy Enel and Sharp formed joint venture - ESSE. The company plans to develop solar energy in Italy all over the country. By 2016 the joint venture plans to launch several solar power plants with total capacity of 500 mW.

To provide the station with the necessary number of panels it is planned to launch production of thin-film solar panels in the end of 2011. Place for future production was selected in southern Italy - in the province of Catania on Sicily. The plant will be built jointly by Sharp, EGP company and STMicroelectronics, according to Reuters.

ESSE plans to develop solar energy throughout Southern Europe. The company also intends to enter the Middle East and Africa market.
Despite great perspectives of ESSE solar energy is still very much a pilot project on the global energy market.

Energy production using solar panels is still too ineffective. In comparison, launched not so long ago by he German energy giant E. ON new power plant in Slovakia, provides with power 600 000 - 900 000 homes. Its capacity is 430 megawatts. Solar power station capacity in Serragimenta is 5 megawatts.