Enel, Santander partner to supply and finance solar, storage and energy efficiency solutions

Italian utility Enel Group and Spanish bank Santander have agreed to collaborate on solar PV, lithium battery storage and energy efficiency solutions for the residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors.
Enel, through Enel X Global Retail, will design “customised turnkey solutions” for clients, while Santander will provide them with financing options. The agreement will support both companies in achieving their climate goals, Enel said in a media statement.
Rome-headquartered Enel said it was the “world’s largest private green energy player with around 54GW of installed renewable capacity worldwide”, with plans to treble that amount by 2030.
By 2040, it wants to fully decommission its thermal fleet alongside exiting gas retail activities and has committed to becoming net zero from both direct and indirect emissions.
Meanwhile, Santander aims to raise or facilitate €120 billion (US$132 billion) in green finance between 2019-2025 and €220 billion (US$242 billion) by 2030.
While it has claimed carbon neutrality for its own operations, the bank said it will “align its power generation portfolio with the Paris Agreement by 2030”.
The announcement was made after the European Commission earlier this week presented its new energy strategy designed to accelerate renewables deployment and cut reliance on Russian gas.
Elsewhere, Enel has partnered with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Comal to set up a solar tracker manufacturing plant with an annual production of up to 1GW.