Enel Green Power

Enel Green Power S.p.A. is an Italian multinational renewable energy corporation, headquartered in Rome. The company was formed as a subsidiary of the power generation firm Enel in December 2008. It has operations in five continents generating energy from solar, geothermal, wind and hydropower sources. As of 2024, it manages a capacity of 63,6 GW (1,3 GW Storage) and has over 1300 plants worldwide.

History
Enel Green Power was founded on 1 December 2008 to concentrate all of Enel's activities in the production of renewable energy. At the time of its establishment, Enel was the largest European company in the field of renewable energy, both in terms of installed capacity and international presence. Following its foundation, the activities of the renewable energy branch were gradually transferred to Enel Green Power; these included activities conducted via Enel Produzione SpA in Italy and assets within the possession of Enel Investment Holding abroad, including Enel Latin America BV, Erelis Enel and Endesa.

Between 2011 and 2012, Enel Green Power expanded with wind power throughout the American continents. The wind-powered installation commenced operations in the state of Bahia in Brazil, which generated approximately 30 MW managed by Cristal; this was followed by installations in the United States in Oklahoma (Rocky Ridge with 150 MW) and Kansas (Caney River with 200 MW). In 2012, the 85 MW Palo Viejo hydroelectric power plant was inaugurated in Guatemala.

In 2014, the company was presented with a European Solar Prize by Eurosolar.

From 2010 to 2016, the company was listed on the FTSE MIB index of the Milan Stock Exchange, as well as on the Madrid Stock Exchange and the Barcelona, Bilbao, and Valencia regional Stock Exchanges.

After the launching of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations Assembly in 2016, Enel Green Power integrated the SDGs objectives into its industrial strategy, in particular those relating to quality of education (SDG 4), clean and economically accessible energy (SDG 7), dignity of work and economic growth (SDG 8), fight against climate change (SDG 13). Following that, power plants were constructed in various locations, including South Africa, Ethiopia (100 MW Metehara), Australia (Bungala Solar), and South America, notably in Peru (Wayra I wind farm and Rubì solar plant ), in Guatemala (El Canadà hydroelectric power station), in Mexico (Cielito Lindo, with a capacity of over 1 GW of photovoltaic power connected to the grid, Amistad (220 MW), Amistad II (100 MW) and Salitrillos (103 MW) wind farms.

In 2017, the company partnered with Anheuser-Busch to provide enough renewable energy from Enel's Oklahoma wind farm to meet Budweiser's needs for 15 years.

On October 25, 2023, Enel Green Power announced the sale of its stakes in Romania to the Greek company Public Power Corporation S.A., as outlined in the sales agreement signed on March 9, 2023. This transaction aligns with the Group’s Strategic Priorities, involving Enel’s repositioning in countries with a more integrated presence, including Italy, Spain, the United States, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.

In May 2024, Enel announced that its subsidiary Enel Perú has sold all its equity stakes in Enel Generacion Perú and Compania Energética Veracruz to Niagara Energy. This sale was planned in the 2024-2026 Strategic Plan.

Operations
Enel Green Power generates electricity from renewable sources. It operates in five continents with more than 1,300 operative plants. The production mix includes geothermal energy, hydropower, solar energy, and wind power. It manages 63,6 GW of total renewable capacity – the target is to reach 145 GW by 2030.

Between 2020 and 2021, Enel Green Power initiated projects to develop green hydrogen, including an agreement with Eni to develop hydrogen production technology from renewable sources. In December 2020, Enel Green Power and NextChem signed a memorandum of understanding to support the production of green hydrogen in the United States.

In 2023, Enel Green Power presented the construction site of 3Sun Gigafactory in Catania, Sicily.

Solar-geothermal hybrid
Enel Green Power designed the Stillwater site, which is located in Fallon, Nevada (USA), and has received $40 million in tax relief under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In the first half of 2014 work began to integrate a solar thermal power plant to the structure.

In the second half of 2014, Enel Green Power partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), under the supervision of the US Department of Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), via a cooperative research and development agreement, in order to use the data of the Stillwater plant to further develop the technology.

Solar thermal and concentrated solar power
The company also operates in the solar thermal and concentrated solar power (CSP), participating in research and development activities along with ENEA. Based on the studies of Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia, in 2010 Enel Green Power built the Archimede combined cycle power plant in Priolo Gargallo in Sicily, with a total capacity of 5 MW. In the plant, parabolic mirrors focus the sun's heat on a fluid of molten salts that reaches temperatures of over 500 °C/932 °F and is able to retain heat for several hours, turning water into steam that then activates the traditional steam turbines system to produce electricity. The objective is to increase the efficiency.

Europe
More than half of Enel Green Power's 1200 plants are located in Italy. The production mix includes hydropower, wind power, solar power, and geothermal power. One of the most considerable hydroelectricity plant installations is situated in Valmalenco at Campo Moro dams. It makes the Sondrio province Italy’s largest producer of hydroelectric energy due to its large production.

Enel Green Power has facilities in the Iberian Peninsula with 300 plants (hydropower, wind, and solar). This presence is the result of the integration of renewable energy activities of Enel and Endesa, as well as the construction and activation of new plants, including the Totana solar park (Fonte 2) and the Sierra Costera (Fonte 3) wind farm, which have been connected to the grid at the end of 2019.

Enel Green Power is present in Greece with 60 power plants. It manages the Kafireas wind farm (7 wind parks), which was connected to the grid at the end of 2019. In March 2024, Principia was established by its shareholders, Enel SpA and by a fund managed by Macquarie Asset Management, having previously begun operations in 2008 as part of Enel Green Power in Greece. Principia is a producer and developer of renewable energy projects in Greece. The business manages a diversified portfolio of wind, solar, hydropower and integrated battery storage technologies to help accelerate Greece’s transition to a cleaner and more sustainable future. As of March 2024, its portfolio consists of 59 plants under operation with a total installed capacity of 482MW, and an additional 7 solar parks under development with a total capacity of 95MW.

In December 2023, Enel completed the sale of 50% of Enel Green Power Hellas to Macquarie Asset Management. Following the agreement, the two companies have established a joint venture to co-manage Enel Green Power Hellas’ current renewable generation portfolio, while continuing to develop its projects.

North America
Enel Green Power operates in North America with operational and under-construction facilities in the United States (solar and wind) and in Canada (wind).

On January 4, 2024, Enel Green Power announced the completion of the sale of a portfolio of approximately 150 MW to ORMAT Technologies Inc., which includes operational geothermal and solar facilities in the United States.

Latin America
In Latin America, Enel Green Power has operations in Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia, where it is present with all the main renewable production technologies, including wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal.

Africa
Enel Green Power is present in Africa with plants in operation and under construction in South Africa (solar and wind technology), Morocco (wind technology) and Zambia (solar technology).

Asia
In 2015 Enel Green Power acquired a majority stake in Indian renewable energy company BLP Energy – for 30 million euros. In Asia, Enel Green generates energy from wind and solar sources. It currently holds 100% of BLP Energy.

In India, Enel Green Power has established offices in Gurgaon and Bangalore and manages three wind farms.

The company has also won two tenders for the “Tunga” Wind Project in Karnataka and for the “Thar” Solar Photovoltaic Project in Rajasthan.

Since 2021, Enel Green Power has expanded its presence to Vietnam with several renewable energy projects. The first plant is set to begin operations in 2024.

Oceania
Enel Green Power is present in Oceania with 3 solar parks.

Turbine failure
On 3 February 2015, a turbine at the hydropower plant at Barber Dam, Boise, Idaho, turned off. A regional operations manager for Enel said it was not clear what caused the shut down, and that an alert system also failed. Boise River water normally flows through at 240 cuft/s, but that night it dipped to less than 60 cuft/s. The low water level stretched 10 to 15 mi downstream, and brought the Boise River to its driest point in decades. Idaho Fish and Game said they did find some dead fish, and although they believed adult fish weren't impacted, younger ones could have been.

2024 Lake Suviana explosion
On 9 April 2024, at around 15:00 CEST, an explosion occurred at the Bargi power plant in Lake Suviana, an artificial lake in the Apennine Mountains near Bologna. The explosion occurred 30 m below the lake's surface, reportedly when a fire caused a turbine to explode on the eighth floor, flooding the floor below and collapsing two levels. The fire began during maintenance work, according to the mayor of the nearby town of Camugnano. Italian authorities said that it was impossible to determine the cause of the explosion. Seven people were killed, and five people suffered severe burns and were airlifted via helicopter to a nearby hospital, including two whom were taken to an intensive care unit. Enel Green Power said that no damage was caused to the dam which formed the lake.

Lawsuits
On 11 November 2014, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma filed suit against Enel's subsidiary Osage Wind LLC, an 84-turbine industrial wind project in Osage County, Okla. In the suit, the United States alleges that Enel and Osage Wind are illegally converting minerals owned by the Osage Nation, a Native American tribe that has owned all mineral rights in the county since 1871. Osage Wind has insisted that it is not mining and needs no permit. The company says that it has already spent nearly $300 million on the project, which is being built on privately owned fee land, not land held in trust for American Indians. In 2015, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that construction of the turbines deprived the tribe of its property rights. In 2019, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal of this decision.

Osage Wind LLC and a second and adjacent Enel wind project, Mustang Run, were also embroiled in cases before the Oklahoma Supreme Court in which the Osage Nation and Osage County, Oklahoma, challenged the constitutional legitimacy of permits for both projects. In 2016, Court found in Osage Wind LLC's favor.