A happy grid makes for ratepayers. Happy ratepayers create happy utilities. Happy utilities have happy investors. Enel Group is shooting for smiles up and down its supply chain.
The Italian energy giant unveiled its strategic plan for 2025-27 today at Capital Markets Day in Milan, which includes capital allocation designed to enhance grids’ profitability by focusing on improving quality and resilience, thereby increasing returns.
Enel plans to spend a staggering €43 billion ($45.4B USD) across its operations over the next three years in a capex plan fully aligned with 2040 Net Zero targets. About 75% will go towards Enel’s European businesses and the remainder to Latin and North America. Enel will put roughly €26 billion into grid investments, mostly in Italy and Spain, countries “characterized by regulatory frameworks that can support investments.”
The utility intends to exit coal power generation by 2027 and gas power generation by 2040, with a goal of being 100% renewable and decarbonizing its supply chain by then.
€12 billion for 12 gigawatts of clean energy
Enel’s strategic plan includes €12 billion ($12.69B USD) for 12 gigawatts (GW) of renewable investments with a shift in technology mix to “further improve returns.” The utility intends to limit economic uncertainty with a more selective approach to development, leaning into onshore wind by adding 2 GW and decreasing its solar plans by 4 GW.
Onshore wind, hydropower, and battery energy storage represent more than 70% of Enel’s reworked mix. 34% of Enel’s new planned capacity will be in Italy, 31% will be in Iberia, 19% in North America, and 16% in Latham.
In its investor presentation, Enel highlights the value in shorter time-to-market projects, like brownfield asset opportunities. Enel Group has an estimated 66 GW of renewable capacity in operation and intends to have 76 GW by 2027, increasing its total clean energy production by more than 15% over the next three years.
Enel is seeing success stateside with its battery investments, particularly in Texas. Enel, the fourth-largest player in the state by capacity, is finishing construction on three new utility-scale batteries in ERCOT, including its largest battery energy storage project to date: GulfStar (355 MW), Ables Springs (115 MW), and Estonian (125 MW).
Earlier this summer, Enel announced a partnership with Texas Solar Sheep Company to deploy more than 6,000 sheep to feast on greenery sprawling eight Texas solar sites. It is the largest known solar grazing agreement executed in the United States, reinforcing a commitment to agrivoltaics, which intertwines clean power generation with agricultural practices.
