Monday, 26 July 2021
Today according to its press release the Italian energy utility Eni has signed a deal to buy a 1.2 GW portfolio of Spanish wind and solar projects from Madrid-based European private equity manager Azora at an undisclosed price.
Eni, through Eni gas e luce, has signed an agreement with Azora Capital for the acquisition of a portfolio of nine renewable energy projects in Spain. This includes the acquisition of three wind farms in service and a wind farm under construction in the central/northern area of Spain, for a total of 230 MW, and five large solar projects in advanced development at around 1 GW capacity. According to the press release, both Eni and Azora Capital will work together in ensuring that all projects under the portfolio will be fully operational by 2024. Additionally, the release states that both companies will work on further scaling up Eni's renewable energy portfolio in Spain.
All of the acquired assets are located in the Spanish regions of Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha, Castile and Leon, Galicia, and La Rioja. According to Eni's press release, the agreement is part of its development strategy in the Spanish market and focuses on the combined development of renewable power generation capacity and retail customer base.
Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, said “This operation allows us to increase our renewable power generation capacity with immediate effect, in compliance with our plan targets, and at the same time to reinforce our growth prospects through a pipeline of solar projects in a strategic market like the Spanish one, where Eni gas e luce is now working on this project with a strong Spanish partner as Azora and it’s boosting its renewables supply, with the aim of providing even more decarbonized energy to its customer base”.
Santiago Olivares, Senior Partner and Head of Azora’s Infrastructure team, commented, “Renewable energy investment sits at the core of Azora’s capabilities and is a key conviction for us. We are proud to support Eni with its continued expansion in the renewable energy space and look forward to leveraging our 20+ year track record in the renewables sector to support such a leading global energy firm on this important growth journey.”
Earlier in the year, in February 2021, Eni signed an agreement with X-Elio for the acquisition of three solar projects in southern Spain for a total capacity of 140 MW. Eni and X-Elio have also entered into discussions for a larger strategic collaboration to develop renewable projects in Spain, where Eni is aiming to grow up to 1 GW in the next five years contributing to the 5GW installed capacity from renewable sources target for 2025.
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