Showcasing: Enel Green Power
Enel Green Power North America Surpasses One Gigawatt of Installed Capacity
Enel Green Power North America (EGP-NA), owned by the Enel Group and headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, is a leading owner and operator of renewable energy facilities in North America with offices and plants in more than 21 US states and three Canadian provinces. The company owns and operates over 70 plants – with an installed capacity exceeding 1,000 megawatts (MW) – powered by renewable hydropower, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar energy. In 2010, EGP-NA entered California by acquiring a San Diego based wind development company and committed to bringing renewable jobs to the San Diego region and supporting California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goals.
The Enel Group is Italy’s largest power company and Europe’s second largest utility by installed capacity. By its 50th anniversary, the Enel Group has a presence in 40 countries over four continents with over 97,336 MW of net installed capacity and sells power and gas to approximately 61 million customers.
Enel Green Power is a subsidiary of Enel Group that is dedicated to the development and management of power generation from renewable resources worldwide. This subsidiary is a global leader thanks to approximately 22 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) produced by a generation mix of wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass in Europe, North America and Latin America. EGP meets the energy needs of over eight million households and avoids 16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Its global installed capacity is more than 7,079 MW with a diversified technological portfolio of over 650 facilities worldwide.
Enel Green Power is committed to substantially increase its power capacity by investing $9.1 billion on power plants through 2015, capturing wind, sun and other renewable sources.
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
The Enel Group has more geothermal experience in the world having pioneered the use of this resource for electricity generation in Italy more than 100 years ago. In 2007, EGP-NA purchased four geothermal sites in Nevada, Utah and California. Two of these, Stillwater and Salt Wells, became operational in spring 2009. Combined, Stillwater and Salt Wells have a total gross installed capacity of 47 MW. Sites in Utah and California are under development.
SOLAR ENERGY
EGP-NA implemented its first solar project in North America in 2011. The Stillwater Solar Project, located in Fallon, Nevada, has an installed capacity of 26 MW and will generate more than 40 million kWh of clean energy per year, enough to meet the needs of 4,000 American households avoiding more than 20,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere each year. The project – which consists of over 89,000 polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) panels built on 240 acres – was developed to operate in conjunction with the Stillwater Geothermal Project. It is the first in the world to combine the continuous generation capacity of the medium enthalpy geothermal binary cycle with the peak capacity of solar power, thus allowing for synergies to be explored.
WIND ENERGY
EGP-NA operates 605 MW of wind in Kansas, New York, Texas, Minnesota, and Canada. Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas is the largest in Enel’s worldwide portfolio (155 turbines; 250 MW). Snyder Wind Farm in Texas boasts the tallest turbines in the Americas (345 feet). The 200 MW Caney River Wind Project in Elk County, Kansas became operational in December 2011. Construction is complete on Phase I of the 76 MW Castle Rock Ridge Wind Farm in Alberta, Canada, which is currently awaiting interconnection to the grid. The Rocky Ridge Wind Farm (150 MW) and the Chisholm View Wind Farm (235 MW) in Oklahoma are currently under construction.
HYDROELECTRIC ENERGY
EGP-NA and its predecessor company have developed, owned, and operated small hydro projects since 1985. The company has one of the largest hydropower portfolios in North America, operating 62 facilities ranging from 0.30 to 80 MW. Its total installed capacity is 313 MW.
BIOMASS ENERGY
EGP-NA built and operates the 21 MW St. Felicien Biomass Project in northern Quebec, Canada. The project offsets over a million tons of CO2 emissions per year by burning wood waste that would otherwise be disposed of in landfills and emit significant levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Visit EGP-NA’s website for more information on its projects.
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