InvestEU: €400 million EU loans for renewable energy projects in Portugal and Spain
The European Investment Bank (EIB), backed by the new InvestEU programme, has provided a loan to a construction facility by Aquila Capital. The financing will support the development and construction of renewable energy projects in Spain and Portugal over the next three years. The projects will be implemented in regions like Castilla y León, Comunidad Valenciana, Andalucía, Cantabria, Castilla La Mancha and Murcia, in Spain, and Setúbal, Coimbra, Evora, Leiria, in Portugal. The pipeline consists of more than 50 projects of mostly solar photovoltaics and onshore wind assets, with a total electricity generation capacity of 2.6 giga watts, a volume equivalent to the annual consumption of around 1.4 million households. These projects will have an estimated yield of 5.3 terawatt-hours per year. The €1 billion construction facility consists of €400 million credit from the EIB – supported by an EU budget guarantee under InvestEU – and €600 million from a consortium of commercial banks. For the total project volume of over €2 billion, the remaining amount of more than €1 billion comes from funds managed by Aquila Capital. Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, said: “Developing the infrastructure that will secure the objectives of the European Green Deal and REPowerEU will require significant financial support. InvestEU will play an important role in mobilising the financing. I am delighted that this programme is facilitating a €2 billion investment that will help Spain and Portugal fulfil their green energy potential.” The InvestEU programme provides the EU with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budgetary guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment. A press release is available online.
