The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Iberdrola have signed a new agreement to accelerate the energy transition in Spain with the development of new renewable capacities. The EU bank will provide a green loan of €550 million for the construction of a portfolio of projects with a total capacity of nearly 1,800 megawatts (MW). These facilities will produce the green and competitive energy equivalent to the average annual consumption of nearly one million households. All the parks will represent a total investment of more than 1,100 million euros.
Overall, the new infrastructure will create approximately 2,100 jobs per year during the construction phase, to which must be added those generated during the operation phase, as well as those created in other related sectors. All this gives this agreement a significant capacity when it comes to contributing to the sustainable recovery of the economy and the creation of jobs. In addition, the operation has a strategic value, since it aims to strengthen European energy autonomy with renewable energies.
The EIB will finance photovoltaic power plants and wind farms in various Spanish municipalities, located mainly in rural areas of Castile and León and Extremadura, considered cohesion regions by the European Union. Part of the funding will go to projects such as the 200 MW Tagus and 80 MW Almaraz photovoltaic power plants in Extremadura or the Valdemoro wind farm (50 MW) in Castile and León. Thanks to these investments, not only will the production of clean energy be increased, but the security of supply will also be improved.
The new facilities will provide clean energy equivalent to the annual consumption of nearly one million homes
EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix assured: “The new green loan signed with Iberdrola allows us to increase our contribution to making Spain a country with greater renewable capacity, a key factor for Europe achieves its climate goals. As an EU bank, we continue to support projects aligned with our “climate roadmap”, while promoting the security of energy supply in Europe in the current delicate context. We are happy to support Iberdrola in projects that will generate economic growth and employment in the cohesion regions”.
El presidente de Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, has explained that “this acuerdo de financiación, que refuerza aún más nuestra colaboración con el BEI, supposes a new impulse for our projects in Spain, at such an important moment as the actual, in el que hay What accelerate the energy transition and reduce dependence on fossil fuels“. The financing signed with the EIB is also in line “with Iberdrola’s commitment to a sustainable energy model that enables the transition to a low-carbon economy”, according to Galán.
This operation contributes to the EU’s objective of reaching 32% of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption by 2030, as established in the new directive on energy sources Renewables (RES) in the EU, and which the European Commission has recently proposed to increase to 45%. In addition, it promotes the achievement of Spain’s renewable energy targets for 2030 of 42%, established in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030.
The project will have a significant impact due to its contribution in terms of security of EU energy supply, as well as in terms of climate action and social cohesion
As this is a 100% eligible loan within the framework of climate action/renewable energies (because it is dedicated to onshore wind and solar photovoltaic projects), the operation can be considered as a “Green Loan” from the EIB. It is a type of financing whose characteristics fully meet the requirements defined in the EIB’s program for Climate Awareness Bonds. The operation is therefore likely to be allocated to its portfolio of borrowing operations financed by the issuance of said bonds.
General informations
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financing institution of the European Union whose shareholders are its Member States. The EIB provides long-term finance for sound investments to help achieve EU policy objectives. The European Investment Bank (EIB) grants long-term loans on behalf of the European Union.
Iberdrola, world leader in sustainable and green finance, has established itself as a global reference in sustainable finance, being the first group in the world to issue green bonds, after being the first Spanish company to open this market in 2014. In 2016, the company also signed the first green loan for an energy company, amounting to 500 million euros.
At the end of March 2022, the group already had green financing or financing linked to sustainability criteria for an amount of more than 41,000 million euros, of which more than 16,000 million correspond to green bonds.