Enel Green Power

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.

Enel Green Power generates electricity from renewable sources. It operates in five continents with more than 1,400 operative plants. The production mix includes geothermal energy, hydropower, solar energy, and wind power. It manages 66,8 GW of total renewable capacity.

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. In January 2024, it secured a total of €560 million from the European Investment Bank, InvestEU, and other Italian banks like UniCredit, Banco BPM, and BPER Banca. The factory is intended to host five 600 MW module assembly lines and to have a full capacity utilization of 3 GW.

In line with the 2040 Vision, Enel Group presented the 2026-2028 Strategic Plan in February 2026, allocating approximately 20 billion euros to renewable energy, increasing capacity by around 15 GW. The technological mix includes over 75% onshore wind and dispatchable technologies, reaching more than 80 GW of total capacity by 2028.

Incidents and lawsuits

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 cubic feet per second (6.8 m3/s), but that night it dipped to less than 60 cubic feet per second (1.7 m3/s). The low water level stretched 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 km) 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 metres (98 ft) 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.

In December 2023, a federal court ruled that Enel subsidiaries Osage Wind, Enel Kansas, and EGPNA must remove the wind turbines installed at the Osage Wind project in northern Oklahoma for failing to obtain proper mineral rights from the Osage Nation. Following a removal order issued in December 2024, Enel appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In March 2025, the court granted a temporary stay of enforcement on the removal order pending the resolution of the appeal.