3561

Megawatts

of installed hydroelectric power plants

642

Megawatts

of wind farms

496

Megawatts

of solar plants

View Our Analysis

The Path to Drawdown: Electrical Utility

Electric utilities play an important role in the path to a world of net-zero emissions. They provide the connective tissue between key Drawdown solutions: renewable energy generation and energy storage. Through long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), utilities enable renewable energy developers to secure buyers for their power and unlock project finance. Utility companies also often control electrical grids, putting them in the position to prioritize (or deprioritize) the extent to which the grid is outfitted  for the intermittency of solar and wind power generation. They also are key players in greenlighting the development of  large-scale energy storage.

There are dozens of investor-owned utilities traded on the New York stock exchange (such as Duke, NextEra, Dominion, Xcel, PG&E, etc.), and many of them are purchasing or developing renewable power capacities to provide clean electricity to customers across large regions. We use a stringent criteria to determine which utilities are significantly contributing to the low-carbon energy transition.

About

Enel Chile S.A. (stock ticker: ENIC) is an electric utility company engaged in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Chile through their subsidiaries and affiliates. 

ENIC's Role in Drawdown

As of the end of 2020, Enel has 7,200 megawatts of gross installed capacity and 2 million distribution customers. 62% of their power comes from renewables and 38% from fossil fuels, passing Carbon Collective's generation mix criteria of > 50% non fossil fuel sources. 4.9% of their power comes from coal, but it has a plan to shut down its coal plants within the next 3 years. It exceeds state regulations.

ENIC: What We Like

Enel has helped avoid 9.8 million tons of greenhouse gases (p. 55) in 2020. And they did this through their 4.7 GW (p. 58) of renewable electricity generation capacity. 

Enel is also planning to expand their renewable capacity in the short- to medium-term future. They project that renewable capacity will expand by 1.5x to 7.1GW by 2023 (p. 58). By 2030, they're planning to increase their renewable capacity to more than 85% of total capacity.

At the same time, Enel has been working toward completely phasing out coal. Between 2017, they've reduced coal generation from 2.7TWh to 2.0 TWh (p. 59). By 2023, they're planning on winding this down entirely to 0TWh. Coal is one of the worst contributors to global warming and we commend Enel for their commitments to substantially increase renewables and phase out coal.

What We Want to See Improve

Phase Out Oil & Gas

We very much applaud Enel for the plan to phase out coal. But in their 2023 projection, oil and gas still comprise 7% (p. 58) of their total installed capacity. As part of their mid- to long-term plan, we'd like to nudge Enel to phase out these gas and oil assets and replace them with renewables, hydroelectric, and geothermal generation.

Redue Emissions

We commend Enel for tracking both their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. This type of transparency allows investors to accurately assess companies' carbon footprint. And sure enough, we'd like to push them harder in the direction of cutting their emissions. Their emissions in 2020 (p. 305) have gone down, but we want to make sure that this is not simply because of the COVID pandemic In other words, we'd like to see that Enel is progressively working toward cutting their emissions in a concrete manner.

Related Green Energy Stocks in the Climate Index

View All Climate Index Stocks →

Allocated Company Description

3.32%

 Exelon Corp. (EXC)

Exelon is one of the largest US electric utility and operates nuclear, wind, solar, hydro plants. They’re a key player in decarbonizing the power sector

2.61%

 Sempra Energy (SRE)

Sempra Energy develops energy infrastructure and provides electricity and gas. Green utilities are the bedrock for developing more renewable energy

1.53%

 Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais (CIG)

CIG is one of the largest power utilities in Brazil that generates its electricity from renewable sources. They’re a model of how utilities should go green

1.48%

 PG&E (PCG)

PG&E is a public utility that offers electricity and natural gas to customers and growing their clean energy capacity. Green utilities are key to Drawdown

1.30%

 Avangrid, Inc. (AGR)

Avangrid generates most of its electricity through solar, onshore wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and biomass - an exemplar of green utilities

0.71%

 Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (AQN)

Algonquin Power & Utilities operates renewable and clean energy assets throughout North America. These are key sources of energy in a decarbonized world

0.19%

 Enel Chile S.A. (ENIC)

Enel generates electricity from hydroelectric, solar, wind, and geothermal. They’re helping expand clean energy capacity

0.10%

 Montauk Renewables, Inc. (MNTK)

Montauk has facilities that generate renewable natural gas, a sustainable fuel. Electric utilities like Montauk are key to expanding clean energy capacity
Attend Our Next Webinar

Attend Our Next Webinar

Join our next Sustainable Investing 101 webinar, get our favorite DIY options, and walk through how we build our portfolios.

Watch Now
Get Our Newsletter

Get Our Newsletter

Go a level deeper with us and investigate the potential impacts of climate change on investments like your retirement account.

Talk To A Human

Talk To A Human

Joining a new investment service can be intimidating. We’re here for you. Click below to email us a question or book a quick call.

Ask a Question