The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Spanish energy giant Iberdrola have signed a new financing agreement worth €1 billion ($1.1 billion) to build a network of solar and wind farms across Europe.
The projects will include 19 solar power plants and three onshore wind farms in Spain, Portugal and Germany.
The projects will have a total installed capacity of 2.2GW and will require a joint investment of more than €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion), according to Iberdrola.
Some of the solar photovoltaic projects will include hybridisation with wind power and battery systems for energy storage and additional flexibility. The integrated systems will share the same connection point to ensure a more stable supply to the grid.
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The projects also will incorporate an innovation element designed to facilitate the integration of renewables into grids.
The new installations will provide green power equal to the average annual energy consumption of more than 1,000,000 households, mainly located where per-capita-income is lower than EU average.
The project partners intend for this agreement to boost economic growth and employment in the regions where these renewable energy facilities are installed.
The operation is part of the EIB’s financing package in support of REPowerEU, the EU plan to strengthen Europe’s energy autonomy.
The agreement was signed in Madrid by EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix and Executive Chairman of Iberdrola Ignacio Galán.
EIB vice-president Ricardo Mourinho Félix commented in a statement: “This is a strategic objective for the European Union and the EIB that will not only contribute to climate change mitigation, but also to the EU’s energy security and strategic autonomy. As the horrific war in Ukraine has shown, sustainable energy and energy security are two sides of the same coin. To achieve them both, it is vital that we collaborate with companies in the European energy sector such as Iberdrola.”
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In 2022, the EIB Group committed more than €17 billion ($18 billion) to the energy transition in Europe. These investments are also aimed at helping Europe overcome the challenges of limited gas supplies after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In October 2022, the EIB Board of Directors raised the Group’s clean energy financing volumes to support the REPowerEU objective of ending Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports. Over the next five years, an additional €30 billion ($32 billion) will be invested on top of the EIB’s current support for the EU energy sector.
