(Reuters) -French company HoloSolis has raised more than 220 million euros ($255 million) in financing to help fund construction of a solar panel factory it says will be among the largest of its kind in Europe.
WHY IT MATTERS:
Solar energy is crucial to European plans to use more environmentally friendly sources of energy and make the region less dependent on Russian energy.
The European Union’s expansion of solar energy was on track for its first annual slowdown in more than a decade, data showed in July.
BY THE NUMBERS:
The HoloSolis project in Sarreguemines-Hambach is due to become fully operational by 2030, with the aim of producing enough power for one million homes.
The project is expected to generate 2,000 direct jobs and reach production capacity of 5 gigawatts per year.
LATEST FINANCING ROUND:
Companies involved in the fundraising round included Cales Technologie, InnoEnergy, TSE, Groupe IDEC, Armor Group and Heraeus.
KEY QUOTE:
“HoloSolis embodies the ambition we have had since day one: a strong and sovereign European solar industry,” said InnoEnergy France CEO Karine Vernier.
($1 = 0.8627 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-GuptaEditing by David Goodman)
