Enel to buy $1 billion U.S. wind and solar portfolio, adding 830 MW

Enel said it will acquire a "portfolio" of U.S. wind and solar plants with a capacity of 830 megawatts for around $1 billion, a deal the Italian energy group announced on Feb. 21 and expects to close in the third quarter of 2026. The assets are expected to produce roughly 2.1 terawatt-hours of power a year and would increase Enel’s renewable installed capacity in North America to about 13 gigawatts.

The purchaser will act through Enel Green Power North America and Egpna Project Holdco 2, both described as wholly owned entities. The seller is Excelsior Energy Capital, identified in company filings and press reports as a renewable energy fund. Firstonline reported an enterprise value for 100 percent of the portfolio equal to about $1.3 billion, a figure different from the headline cash consideration of around $1.0 billion.

Firstonline also reported that the acquisition will be financed from Enel’s current operating cash flows and that, at steady state, the agreements are expected to deliver a positive contribution to group ordinary EBITDA of about €125 million per year, writing that "si prevede che gli accordi porteranno un contributo positivo ai risultati del Gruppo (Ebitda ordinario) di circa 125 milioni di euro l’anno a regime." Firstonline further preserved the EV estimate, noting "THE enterprise values riferito al 100% del portafoglio è pari a circa 1,3 miliardi di dollari."

The closing is subject to customary suspensive conditions and regulatory approvals in the United States, including antitrust clearances, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approvals and government sign-off for foreign direct investments, Firstonline reports. Those approvals could shape the timing of the transaction and any required mitigation measures.

For investors and corporate buyers of clean power, the purchase underscores Enel’s accelerating strategy in North America. Enel Green Power has a global installed renewable capacity of about 68 GW across wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric and energy storage, and Industrialinfo tracking shows the company had signaled plans to invest roughly $5 billion in North America to develop about 5 GW of utility-scale renewables and battery storage through 2025. Enel’s North American pipeline and commercial activity already include corporate power-purchase agreements with large customers such as McDonald’s, Thermo Fisher and Campbell Soup, demonstrating an established route to market for incremental capacity.

Market implications are straightforward: the deal expands Enel’s scale in a competitive U.S. market and adds recurring generation that the company expects will lift recurring earnings at a material level. Financing the deal from operating cash flows minimizes near-term equity dilution and signals confidence in cash generation from Enel’s broader portfolio.

Key details remain to be clarified publicly: sources do not specify the state locations of the plants, the split between wind and solar within the 830 MW, whether energy storage is included in the purchased assets, or the mix of contracted versus merchant revenues for the projects. Those items, along with the treatment of any assumed liabilities and the precise ownership transfer mechanics, are among the follow-ups that investors, counterparties and regulators will watch as the transaction proceeds toward a projected Q3 2026 close.