8 January 2007 -- Enel SpA, Italy's largest utility, said Friday it will build two wind farms in the United States and Canada with a combined capacity of 277 MW as part of a 4 billion euro ($5.2 billion) investment in renewable energy.

Enel said a 250 MW capacity wind farm will be built in Smoky Hills, Kansas, and a 27 MW plant in Newfoundland -- reducing carbon emissions by 415,500 tons a year.

The first phase of the Smoky Hills project, representing 100.8 MW of capacity, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007, Enel said.

Enel North America Inc., in partnership with Tradewind Energy LLC, has agreements to sell power from the Smoky Hills project to the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation and the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities, Enel said.

In Canada, NewWind Group Inc., which is controlled by Enel North America Inc., will provide 27 MW of power to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro as part of the province's first wind power project. The St. Lawrence project is to go on line by the end of 2008 and will produce around 100,000 MW of power a year.