Italian energy firm Enel Green Energy plans to splash more than €6 billion (£5bn) over the next four years – with €5.5bn of this on new growth.

By 2017 it plans to have around 12.4 GW worth of green power installed, a rise of 4.4 GW on existing power projects, with around 1 GW of that in place by the end of 2013.

Enel Green Power already operates in several Latin American countries such as Brazil, Chile and Mexico and it wants to strengthen its position there as well as in the United States. It also wants to stretch its reach into five new countries: Colombia, Peru, Morocco, South Africa and Turkey.

The firm says it hopes earnings before interest and tax will hit around €1.8 billion in 2013.