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One of the largest geothermal players, Enel praised for its leadership in renewables

One of the largest geothermal players, Enel praised for its leadership in renewables Snapshot of Construction Video for Cerro Pabellon project, Chile (source: YouTube/ Enel)
Alexander Richter 1 Nov 2017

One of the leading geothermal companies in the world, Enel continues to be praised for its leadership in its transition from fossil fuel based electricity production to renewable energy.

A recent report on “Global Electricity Utilities in Transition” by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), which analysed the economic performance and financial position of 11 of the world’s most important utilities, highlights the leadership of Enel in renewable energy deployment.

According to the report, Enel together with NextEra, the US wind energy powerhouse, are the two energy utilities that are best interpreting the transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

The report compares the world’s main utilities at a time when renewable sources represent a change of course in the energy market. It is a change that very few people would have imagined “just a few years ago,” but which is bound to grow rapidly in coming years. Bloomberg’s New Energy Outlook 2017 expects that in 2040 solar and wind energy will account for 48% of the total installed capacity and 34% of electricity generation. The IEA (International Energy Agency) expects a 43% increase in the capacity of renewable electricity already by 2022. According to IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) forecasts, the share of renewables will double by 2030.

The IEEFA report states that renewables have already undermined the traditional business model of utilities in those countries where electricity demand is stable or declining. But even where electricity demand is growing, such as in China and India, the use of coal-fired power plants has been impacted by renewables.

Thanks to an “early awareness of the need for a transition” in the energy market, today approximately half of the electricity that Enel produces comes from non-fossil sources, with 36 GW of installed capacity from hydropower, wind, geothermal, solar, biomass and cogeneration plants, which make us “one of the most important clean energy producers at a global level.” Zero-emission sources account for 46% of production (Sustainability Report 2016-2019). We aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020 compared to 2007 and to zero them by 2050.

Our commitment to an increasingly sustainable model was recently recognised also by Fortune, which included us in the “Change the World” ranking, as the only utility and only Italian company among the top 50companies that are improving the life of the planet from a social and environmental point of view. Last September – for the 14th year in a row – Enel was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World). In addition, before the summer, the FTSE4Good index recognised the sustainability of our policies, practices and procedures giving us an overall score of 4.6/5 in the environment, social and governance areas.

Source: Company release