Renewable

March 17 (Renewables Now) - Italian energy company ERG SpA (BIT:ERG) will seek to add 2.2 GW of capacity to its fleet of renewable energy assets and have 5 GW of power plants in operation by 2026.

The target is part of the company’s business plan for 2022-2026, which the board of directors approved on Tuesday. The planned expansion of renewables capacity will entail investments of EUR 2.9 billion (USD 3.2bn).

CEO Paolo Merli said the outlined goals are mostly guaranteed by projects under construction or in an advanced stage of development.

ERG aims to achieve the target through a combination of repowering, greenfield and co-development projects along with acquisitions. Of the total 2.2 GW, about a third will come from the solar photovoltaic (PV) segment.

Under the plan, roughly 500 MW will come from projects under construction in the UK, Poland, France and Sweden and repowering efforts in Italy, while 500 MW will be greenfield wind and solar projects. More repowerings in Italy and abroad will bring about 200 MW. Around 1,000 MW will be added through acquisitions.

At present, ERG has 2.5 GW of installed wind and solar PV capacity, and a pipeline exceeding 3.5 GW. The company will seek to diversify technologically by exploring options in the energy storage, floating wind and hydrogen sectors.

The 2022-2026 business plan sets a EUR-560-million goal for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2026, up from EUR 399 million in wind and solar earnings in 2021. Between 85% and 90% of the EBITDA is planned to be sourced through auctions or power purchase agreements (PPAs).

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.104)

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