Spanish energy company Endesa has sold its Irish assets at a loss to Scottish and Southern Energy, the company which already owns Airtricity, in a move creating 100 jobs.
SSE has paid €320m for power stations which cost Endesa some €450m to purchase from the ESB in 2009.
SSE says the 100 jobs will support the growth of its business over the next 12 months.
The company says it expects that 600 separate construction jobs will also be created through energy projects and windfarms.
The Taoiseach attended the announcement in Dublin this afternoon.
SSE is also putting in €168m in investment which will be used among other things to finish construction on a plant at Great Ireland in Wexford.
It will aso invest in a further large power generation facility at the site of the existing Tarbert plant in Kerry.
The company says several hundred new jobs will result both in construction and at SSE's Irish operations as a result of the deal announced to the stock exchange in the past hour.
With the deal, SSE consolidates its position as the third biggest player in the Irish energy market behind ESB and Bord Gáis.
Endesa is owned by Italy's biggest utility company Enel, which is Europe's most indebted utility. Enel, which operates in some 40 countries worldwide and sells power and gas to around 61 million customers, is focusing on strengthening its balance sheet as it moves to cut debt to €30 billion in 2016 from last year's €44.6 billion.
A British energy company has announced that it intends on creating 100 jobs as part of a half billion euro investment in Ireland.
Mr Kenny said it was a sign of the confidence and certainty that companies have in Ireland.
He said secure energy supplies were important to the country.
Mr Kenny said there were on-going bilateral discussions with the British government regarding energy requirements over the coming years.
