Enel to decide how to sell green unit in summer-CEO

MILAN, July 13 (Reuters) - Enel SpA (ENEI.MI) will decide by the end of the summer the method for selling a stake in its renewable energy unit, Chief Executive Fulvio Conti said on Monday, bringing the timing forward from the end of the year.

Conti said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of bourse regulator Consob there had been over 12 expressions of interest in the renewable unit, Enel Green Power, where Enel is considering the sale of up to 49 percent.

He said Enel, which previously said it would decide how to sell the stake by the end of the year, would now draw up a shortlist of bidders.

The sale could either take place through a stock placement, by bringing on board two or three strategic investors or by listing the stake on the stock market.

Conti has previously said the unit could be valued at more than 8 or 9 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which reached 1.19 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in 2008.

The sale is part of Enel's plans to cut its debt, which stood at 50.8 billion euros at the end of March.

Enel Green Power, which includes wind, solar, hydro and other renewable energy plants with a total installed capacity of 4,500 megawatts, has bought a 18.9 MW wind power plant in Greece, the company also said in a statement on Monday. (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; Writing by Jo Winterbottom; Editing by David Holmes)