Enel subsidiary Enel Produzione has signed an agreement with ERG Power Generation for the acquisition of all ERG Hydro’s assets totalling 527MW.
The portfolio of plants owned by ERG Hydro will cost Enel €1 billion ($1.2 billion) and consists of 19 hydro plants, seven micro-hydro plants, seven large dams and four reservoirs located in Umbria, Lazio and Marche.
The plants have an installed capacity of 527MW and an average annual production of about 1.5TWh. Furthermore, the scope of the transaction includes 114 staff members who are currently in charge of operating the plants.
The transaction, expected to be completed at the beginning of 2022, is in line with Enel’s current strategic plan to increase renewable capacity in Italy. Following the completion of this transaction, the Enel Group will indeed reach approximately 13GW of installed hydro capacity in Italy, for a total renewable capacity, including geothermal, wind and photovoltaic, of around 14.5GW.
Commenting on the transaction, Salvatore Bernabei, CEO of Enel Green Power and Head of Enel’s Global Power Generation business line, said: “By acquiring these strategic assets we are taking an important step towards the achievement of the Group’s decarbonisation targets.”
Paolo Merli, CEO of ERG commented: “The agreement with Enel represents a first important step in the further transformation of ERG towards a pure wind and solar model, which we plan to complete with the sale of the thermo assets over the next few months.
“The operation, in addition to guaranteeing a correct valorisation of the assets sold, makes us particularly proud because it allows the integration of our people within a primary global energy group with a deep-rooted presence in Italy. The Asset Rotation, one of the pillars of our strategic plan 2021-2025, will allow us to accelerate the growth and geographic diversification with a better balance of activities between Italy and abroad.”
