Enel has been awarded contracts for 12,900MW out of a total of approximately 41,500MW assigned at auction by Italy’s national transmission grid operator for 2024.
The capacity market auction allocates one-year contracts for existing capacity and 15-year contracts for new capacity linked to the capacity available for the electricity system (CDP).
Enel was awarded 10,400MW of existing capacity, 1000MW of foreign capacity, and 1500MW of new capacity.
More than two third of the latter will be met by battery energy storage systems (BESS) and the remainder by renewable facilities, as well as by the upgrading and refurbishment of some gas-fired plants already in service that Enel said were necessary to ensure the adequacy and safety of the Italy’s electricity system.
In particular, Enel was awarded 500MW for new capacity in Sardinia, which will be exclusively covered through the creation of storage systems and without having to invest in new gas-fired plants, thus taking a concrete step towards Sardinia’s transformation into a green island.
Introduced in 2019, capacity market auctions are one of the tools provided by Italy’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan to achieve the country’s energy transition objectives.
This includes the closure of coal-fired power plants by 2025 and promoting the necessary investments in flexible technology to ensure the adequacy and safety conditions of the country’s electricity system.