European Utility Giant To Invest $190 Billion In Renewable Infrastructure

Italy’s Enel plans to invest as much as US$190 billion (160 billion euro) by 2030 in boosting renewable power generation, decarbonization, and grid infrastructure as part of a new plan to become a “Super Major” in renewables, Europe’s largest utility said on Tuesday.  

Enel also plans to catalyze investments of US$35.5 billion (30 billion euro) from third parties in its plan to accelerate the energy transition.  

Of all planned investments, Enel will invest US$83 billion (70 billion euro) in renewables, expecting its total installed capacity in renewables to reach 120 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. This would be 2.7 times higher than its currently installed renewable capacity of around 45 GW. 

The utility also targets to reach an 80-percent reduction in direct carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions versus 2017. 

“With this new Strategic Plan we are setting a direction for the next 10 years, mobilizing 190 billion euros in investments to pursue our goals in a decade full of opportunities,” Francesco Starace, CEO and General Manager of Enel, said in a statement. 

Enel’s shares jumped by more than 3 percent in Milan on Tuesday afternoon after the plan was presented. 

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Enel Green Power, a unit of Enel, operates in the U.S., where it is present in 18 states with wind, solar, and geothermal plants with a combined installed capacity of 5.7 GW. Enel Green Power’s biggest renewables operations in the United States are in wind power, with more than 5.5 GW of installed capacity as of the middle of 2020. 

The Italian company is the latest utility pledging significantly increased investments in renewables. Most recently, Spain’s Iberdrola said it would invest US$89 billion (75 billion), with more than half of the investment increase, or 51 percent, going to renewables and 40 percent to networks. This is the largest investment program of a Spanish company in history, the firm said earlier this month.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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