Italian oil and gas major Eni has introduced to the world its new renewable energy arm called Plenitude through which it aims to supply 100% decarbonized energy to all its customers by 2040. It now plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) for Plenitude.
Introduced at its Capital Markets event on November 22, 2021, Eni's Plenitude will combine renewables generation, retail customers, electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy services.
"It is the first step in creating an industrial and financial entity to reduce our Scope 3 emissions, and aligns to our wider commitment to delivering value through energy transition," said Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi.
Eni has committed to reach net zero by 2040, for which it aims to have 6 GW of renewables capacity by 2025, increasing it to 15 GW by 2030, up from 1.2 GW it aims to report by 2021. Currently, the company has more than 10 GW of identified projects under development out of which more than 5 GW are under operations, under construction or at a mature stage of development.
Comprising mainly solar, onshore and offshore assets, this project pipeline is diversified geographically, but going forward there will be higher exposure to solar power projects.
The Italian parent will continue to hold the majority stake in Plenitude. "The IPO of Plenitude is a cornerstone of our decarbonization strategy and key to our ongoing transformation," explained Descalzi. "Through the IPO we are seeking to free more resources to deliver higher returns to our shareholders and additional capital for the energy transition."
Plenitude will be led by Stefano Goberti as the CEO.
Growing investor and customer stress on a positive energy transition is not the only reason that's forcing fossil fuel companies like Eni to explore renewables, but it is also to do with it making economic sense. Falling prices of renewable technologies as solar and their integration with various other technologies as EVs is a proposition that's too hard to ignore, especially in the light of global financing avenues fast closing for fossil fuels.
One of Eni's competitors, bp recently committed to growing its renewable energy generating capacity to 50 GW by 2030 after it invested in solar project developer Lightsource bp from Britain (see BP: 50 GW Renewable Generating Capacity By 2030).
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