Iberdrola, a Spanish multinational electric utility, received a €150 million (~$160 million) green loan agreement from The European Investment Bank (EIB) to develop a portfolio of renewable energy projects in Italy.
The new facilities, comprising wind and solar PV projects with a total capacity of around 400 MW, will produce green energy equivalent to the average consumption of up to 260,000 households.
The projects, located mainly in southern Italy, will be financed by the EIB, and the investments will include small and medium-sized solar PV and wind power projects and their grid connection infrastructure. The financing will also cover ancillary infrastructure such as access roads, substations, and interconnections.
Iberdrola Executive Chairman, Ignacio Galán, said that the new green loan signed with the EIB enables the company to increase its contribution to a Europe capable of meeting its climate targets and increasing its energy independence.
Iberdrola already has a project pipeline of almost 3 GW in Italy, including a 23 MW PV project already in operation and four other licensed, ready-to-build projects with a total capacity of 116 MW.
“Securing financing to ensure a resilient and sustainable energy supply is a priority for the EU Climate Bank. We are pleased to collaborate with Iberdrola in developing its first renewable plants in Italy and our commitment to achieving climate targets,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.
Over the past decade, the European Investment Bank Group has invested almost €100 billion (~107 billion) in the EU’s energy sector. Over the first nine months of 2022 alone, financial support signed by the EIB amounted to over €8.3 billion (~$8.8 billion) for energy efficiency, renewables, power, and storage projects within the EU.
According to Mercom Annual and Q4 2022 Solar Funding and M&A report, large-scale project funding in 2022 came to $32.1 billion in 179 project funding deals, compared to $18.7 billion in 185 projects in 2021.
