Italian energy company Plenitude (Eni) buys French sites from Neoen

The operation, the amount of which has not been specified, concerns 37 photovoltaic parks, 14 onshore wind farms and a battery storage site for a total of 760 megawatts.

"The acquisition will further strengthen Plenitude's presence in France, one of the most dynamic energy markets in Europe," explained the management of Eni's renewable energy subsidiary in a statement.

Neoen will manage these assets for Plenitude "for a few years", the French company said in another statement.

The company, which was acquired in March by Canadian asset manager Brookfield, retains 1,1 gigawatts of capacity in operation or under construction in France, its management specified.

According to Neoen, this operation is part of its strategy to "proceed regularly and selectively with the sale of assets from its portfolio", financing "new assets and enabling the development of innovative energy solutions".

Eni, for its part, plans to almost quadruple the installed capacity of Plenitude by 2030, to 15 gigawatts.

Eni thus distinguishes itself from several of its European competitors such as Shell, BP and Equinor, which are slowing down their energy transition to refocus on their more profitable hydrocarbon activities.

Plenitude plans to strengthen its presence in France where it has one million customers, out of a total of 10 million in Europe, its boss Stefano Goberti also emphasized in the press release.