- Last year, Enel Grids, the Enel Group’s global business line dedicated to electricity distribution, achieved a record of nearly 5.6 GW[1] of additional distributed renewable energy capacity connected to its grids worldwide, the majority of which from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems
- Almost 411,000 producers and prosumers were added by Enel Grids globally over the course of 2022
- Enel Grids’ cumulated grid-connected small and medium-scale renewable capacity across the world now exceeds 65 GW, which stems from about 1.4 million energy producer-prosumers
Rome, February 16th, 2023 – Enel Grids, the Group’s global business line dedicated to electricity distribution, connected a record of nearly 5.6 GW1 of new producer and prosumer renewable energy capacity to its distribution grids around the world in 2022. The new capacity added in 2022 by Enel Grids corresponds to around 411,000 producers and prosumers, of which about 317,000 in Europe and the rest in Latin America[2].
The cumulated grid-connected capacity of small and medium-scale renewable capacity in Enel Grids across the world reached 65.7 GW3, which stems from a total of approximately 1.4 million of energy producer-consumers, at the end of 2022. These results were achieved thanks to the ever-increasing hosting capacity and the high level of digitalization of the distribution grids operated by Enel.
“Power grids are key in the current energy scenario, marked by the growing and ever more decentralized renewable generation and the increasingly active role of customers, as shown by the record numbers of producers and prosumers connected to the Enel Group’s grids in 2022,” said Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Grids. “This unprecedented and bottom-up energy transition is driven by the large number of citizens making use of abundant clean natural resources to self-produce renewable energy. We are expecting even greater volumes for 2023 and beyond, as shown by the consistent growth of requests in the first weeks of the year. Enel Grids is continuing to pursue service improvements to make our customers’ electrification journey smoother, delivering the grid connection required to support their energy independence while promoting a more interactive electricity ecosystem and new business model opportunities.”
Out of the new 5.6 GW added around the world in 2022, 2.4 GW were connected in Italy, of which roughly 2 GW of solar PV, corresponding to installing more than 6 million standard solar panels. The capacity added in the areas served by Enel in Italy was concentrated in the northern regions for 57%, with another 20% located in the central regions. The southern regions contributed with 14% and the remainder capacity was installed in the Islands. The number of new connections made in the period amounts to approximately 204,000, about 2.5 times more compared to 2021.
Technical firms handled 87% of the connections requests on behalf of the final customers, thus enhancing local entrepreneurial value chains. With the 2022 record additions, the total number of prosumers and producers connected to Enel’s grid in Italy amounts now to approximately 1.2 million, for an overall capacity of more than 34 GW.
In Spain, Enel Grids connected 2.2 GW of capacity, thanks to 97,000 new connections in 2022 (more than 3 times compared to 2021), up to a total of around 134,000, corresponding to an overall capacity of 24.4 GW. Out of the regions served by Enel Grids, Extremadura, Andalucía and Catalunya have in aggregate installed 80% of the total power, with the remaining part divided between Aragon as well as the Balearic and Canary Islands.
The remaining additions were done mainly in Brazil, where 800 MW were connected to the grids, almost 2 times compared to 2021.
These record numbers underscore how the growth of renewable electricity generation worldwide is both driven by utility-scale wind and solar plants as well as by customer-led initiatives at the local level, giving important contribution to the reduction of fossil fuel consumption and carbon free electricity generation. This search for energy independence is also causing a major shift of the role of power distribution grids and analysts such as BloombergNEF estimate indeed that in Europe the share of power injected in the distribution grids will rise to 66% by 2050, up from 27% in 2022.
[1] Including approximately 300 MW corresponding to Enel Goiás in Brazil, sold at end of December 2022.
[2] Including around 35,000 producers and prosumers added by Enel Goiás in Brazil, sold at end of December 2022.
3 Including approximately 700 MW corresponding to Enel Goiás in Brazil, sold at the end of December 2022.