Enel SpA – through its U.S.-based renewables subsidiary, Enel Green Power North America Inc. (EGPNA) – has signed a letter agreement with GE Energy Financial Services in which EGPNA would sell a 1% stake in EGPNA Renewable Energy Partners LLC (EGPNA REP) to GE to create a 50/50 joint venture.
Following the transaction, EGPNA plans to reduce its stake in EGPNA REP to 50% from the current 51%, and GE Energy Financial Services will increase its stake to 50% from its current 49% (for a price to be fixed at a later stage).
The transaction, which is subject to all required regulatory approvals, is expected to be closed this month. Upon completion of the transaction, the Enel Group will deconsolidate EGPNA REP’s debt (approximately $500 million) and capacity.
“The deconsolidation of these assets reduces our capital intensity, decreases our risk profile and supports our ability to accelerate investment in the large pipeline of opportunities globally,” comments Francesco Venturini, Enel’s head of global renewable energies.
The partnership in EGPNA REP was launched in March 2015 as a mechanism to actively manage the Enel Group’s renewables portfolio in North America. Currently, EGPNA REP’s assets include 46 wind, geothermal, hydropower and solar plants, totaling around 1.2 GW of installed capacity.
The Enel Group currently operates more than 2.5 GW of installed capacity, including EGPNA REP’s capacity, through solar, wind, geothermal and hydropower plants in the U.S. and Canada. The company is present in 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.
