Enel Gears to Add 21 GW Renewable Assets in Core Countries

Enel, an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas is exiting the big markets of Romania, Peru and Argentina and now the company has held that its exit is a part of the 2023-2025 strategic plan under which Enel will focus on Spain, the US, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and its home market Italy. Enel will dispose of the assets from the countries it is exiting to yield EUR 21 billion that is expected to lower the debt of Enel.

During the presentation of the strategic plan, Francesco Starace, CEO of Enel, said that Enel is focusing its renewables growth in those places in the world where it has the biggest value because they have a big client base. He noted that the energy market challenges began with the pandemic, stayed with Russia-Ukraine conflict and the turbulence may last for some years. The CEO said that the Enel strategic plan is a different and more conservative approach.

Enel believes that its growth potential in the countries it is exiting remains limited and it wants to focus on the expanding markets. In Romania, Enel has 568 MW of wind capacity and its entirely online. In Argentina, Enel only has one wind farm of 100 MW called Pampa Chubut. It owns the operating wind farm in Peru called Wayra I and has begun the development of a 177 MW Wayra Extensión wind farm. The firm did not give a list of the assets that it looks to sell in these three countries.

Of the yield that Enel will have from the sale of assets, the company said it looks to invest EUR 17 billion for 19 GW of renewable energy in the coming three years in its core markets. Specifically, Enel will develop 4 GW of wind power and battery storage and 11 GW of solar power.  A further 2 GW will be developed through Enel’s stewardship model, which is carried out in conjunction with partners. Enel is also shifting projects in Australia and Greece to the stewardship model. The end plan of the firm is that by the end of 2025, it wants 75 per cent of its energy coming from renewable sources. In the coming two years, Enel aspires to have 18 GW in wind capacity, 17 GW in solar, 26 GW in hydropower and 4 GW in battery storage.

Enel CEO also said that the company has no interest in offshore wind, “Offshore wind is a perfectly viable way to generate energy. The problem is that it freezes capital for a long time,” said Starace, who believes that Enel will achieve its 2030 capacity target of 154 GW.