Global clean energy giant Enel plans to sell electricity directly to U.S. businesses via Enel North America. The Italian company will invest at least $5 billion in the North American market and build eight gigawatts of wind and solar-based renewable power assets, including more than four gigawatts already operating in Texas alone. 

Enel will expand into Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois by the end of the year. The company’s business model allows American companies to buy renewable energy without a long-term power agreement, offering more flexibility for a sustainable future.

It focuses on making renewable generation more accessible and flexible for American companies. By operating without long-term agreements, Enel hopes to reduce energy costs, minimize the volatility in emerging or uncertain markets and meet demands for sustainability. 

Directly buying renewables has long been a demand of factories and other businesses that wish to meet daily electric needs without a longer commitment.

This way, companies can acquire smaller amounts of power as needed without massive financial restraints that have scared many businesses away from the traditional long-term power leases.

Major American firms are already committing to Enel. Campbell Soup Company recently committed to a 12-year agreement for renewable energy, part of its pledge to a 42% carbon-emissions reduction by the end of the decade.

“Improving the sustainability of the agriculture and food value chain is important to Campbell,” said Stewart Lindsay, Campbell’s vice president of corporate responsibility and sustainability. “Reducing emissions is a key part of this work, and the agreement with Enel North America provides a significant step forward in meeting our science-based emissions targets.”

Enel’s push into the American market comes after the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which includes numerous tax benefits and incentives for using renewables.

By making sustainable power readily available in smaller increments, the firm is helping the U.S. reduce energy spending while assisting them in making good on their sustainability promises and promoting local economies.

“Recent policy tailwinds from the act have served as a catalyst for our solar manufacturing ambitions in the United States, ushering in a new era of made-in-America energy,” said Enrico Viale, Enel North America head. “With this announcement, it is our intention to bolster a robust domestic solar supply chain that accelerates and strengthens the U.S.’s transition to clean energy.”