Wind Energy

Enel and EIB sign agreement for financing investment in wind energy and solar power

Enel Green Power SpA (“EGP”) and the European Investment Bank (“EIB”) signed an agreement whereby EIB will grant EGP a loan of 440 million euros (that may be increased by further agreement of the parties up to 600 million euros) to help finance EGP’s plan to expand its operations in Italy. EGP is the Enel Group company dedicated to the management and development of renewable energy.

The 20-year loan carries an interest rate well below the market benchmarks since it is also fully secured by Enel SpA.

More specifically, the EIB loan will help finance the installation of 840 MW in new renewables generation capacity by wind turbines and photovoltaic plants. EGP plans to invest a total of around 1,300 million euros in this project.

For EGP this operation is part of the growth strategy outlined in its 2010-2014 business plan, which calls for significantly expanding installed capacity from its current level of about 5.9 GW to 9.2 GW, with a capex of 5.2 billion euros. EGP plans to pursue balanced growth in all of the technologies it currently uses (hydroelectric, wind farm, geothermal, solar and biomass) and the EIB loan will help make the financial structure of these wind and photovoltaic projects more competitive.

Enel Green Power is a publicly listed company and part of the Enel Group. It is dedicated to renewable energy with a presence in Europe, North America and Latin America. It is one of the global leaders in its industry with a total installed capacity of around 5,900 MW and more than 600 plants in operation in 16 countries. The company and its subsidiaries produced 21 billion kWh of energy from water, sun, wind, geothermal and biomass in 2009.

www.enel.com