Enel Green Power and Finpiemonte Partecipazioni sign agreement for the development of renewable energy

An agreement to establish a joint venture for the development of renewable energy resources in Piedmont was signed today by the Chairman of Enel Green Power, Francesco Starace, and the Chairman of Finpiemonte Partecipazioni, Fabio Massimo Cacciatori, in the presence of the President of the Region of Piedmont, Mercedes Bresso, and the regional councillor for energy, research and industry, Andrea Bairati.

Today’s agreement – which implements the Memorandum signed in July 2008 between the CEO and General Manager of Enel, Fulvio Conti, and President Bresso for joint initiatives for the development of renewable resources – provides for the construction and operation of a photovoltaic system with a capacity of more than 3 MW at Strambino, near Turin, and, in the near future, photovoltaic, hydro and wind power plants on property owned by companies controlled by Finpiemonte Partecipazioni.

The new company will be 60%-owned by Enel Green Power – the Enel Group company devoted to the development and management of power generation from renewable resources in Italy and worldwide – and 40%-owned by Finpiemonte Partecipazioni, a company controlled by the Region of Piedmont active in renewable energy and reducing atmospheric emissions, which has more than 600 thousand square meters available for further joint photovoltaic initiatives.

The Strambino plant will start operations by the end of 2010 and will use polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic panels. With an installed capacity of more than 3 MW, it will be able to generate about 4 million kilowatt hours annually, enough to meet the needs of nearly 1,500 households and avoid the emission of more than 3 thousand tonnes of CO2.

Enel Green Power is the Enel Group company devoted to the development and management of power generation from renewable resources at the international level, with a presence in Europe and the Americas. It is the European leader in its industry thanks to 17.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity generated from water, the sun, wind and the heat of the earth, enough to meet the consumption needs of some 6.5 million households each year and avoid 13 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

The company’s installed capacity totals about 4,700 MW, making it the Italian leader in this sector, with an integrated international business in the generation of power from renewable resources. It has more than 500 plants in operation around the world, with a generation mix that includes wind energy, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass.

Finpiemonte Partecipazioni is a public/private corporation, majority owned by the regional government. It operates in the areas of logistics, renewable energy and developing the Piedmont region. In particular, the activity of Finpiemonte Partecipazioni in the renewable energy sector is focused on reducing atmospheric emissions through the development of photovoltaics, co-generation with biogas and district heating.

www.enel.com