Most of the investment associated with the project will take place in regions with a per capita income below the EU average, contributing to cohesion between regions. This operation contributes to achieving the objective of the REPowerEU plan to increase the energy security of the European Union and accelerate the energy transition.
Naturgy and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have agreed on a €1 billion loan to support investments in new solar photovoltaic and onshore wind power plants, as well as in the repowering and hybridisation of existing ones in Spain. The first tranche of this financing has been signed in Madrid for a value of €400 million. The loan will also be used to a lesser extent for investments in batteries for the storage of renewable energy.
The investment associated with the project will increase the renewable energy generation capacity in Spain by 2.3 GW, thus contributing to the energy transition in our country and to the broader climate action and environmental sustainability objectives of the EIB Group. It is estimated that upon completion the project will generate green energy equivalent to the approximate average consumption of more than 1,150,000 homes for one year.
The agreement was signed by Jean-Christophe Laloux, Director General of the EIB and Head of Financing and Advisory Services for the EU, and Francisco Reynés, Executive Chairman of Naturgy.
For Francisco Reynés, Executive Chairman of Naturgy, “the financing agreement that we have closed with the EIB once again shows and validates our commitment to the energy transition and the advancement of the decarbonisation of the Spanish economy. I would like to highlight the work that the Naturgy financial team led by Steven Fernández has done to reach this agreement. The implementation of these investments will also allow the creation of thousands of jobs in what has been called the emptied Spain, which will result in greater territorial cohesion in our country.”
“This important financing agreement with Naturgy reflects the EIB’s firm commitment to supporting the energy transition in Europe,” said the Director General of the EIB and Head of Financing and Advisory Services for the EU, Jean-Christophe Laloux. “Once completed, this project is expected to generate enough green electricity to power more than 1 million households, also contributing to our energy security and strategic autonomy.”
The project underlines the EIB’s commitment to economic, social and territorial cohesion, as the bulk of the associated investment will take place in cohesion regions with per capita income below the European average. The project is expected to create 4,200 jobs during the investment implementation phase.
The €1 billion loan is part of the EIB’s action programme to support the REPowerEU plan to increase the European Union’s energy security and accelerate the energy transition.
EIB and energy security
In 2023, the EIB Group signed financing worth more than €21 billion for energy security in Europe. In Spain, this target reached €4.513 billion in the same year, which was allocated to financing renewable energy projects, energy efficiency, electricity networks and storage systems, among others. These investments are helping Europe to accelerate the transition towards the use of sustainable energy and reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports.
In July 2023, the EIB Board of Directors decided to increase the funds allocated to REPowerEU projects, the plan designed to end Europe’s dependence on fossil fuel imports, to €45 billion. The EIB has also decided to expand the range of eligible sectors to boost financing for EU manufacturing in strategic cutting-edge technologies with net-zero carbon emissions, as well as the extraction, processing and recycling of key raw materials. This additional financing will be distributed by 2027 and, in total, is expected to mobilise more than €150 billion in investments in the targeted sectors.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financing institution of the European Union, whose shareholders are its Member States. It finances sound investments that contribute to achieving the EU’s public policy objectives. EIB projects foster competitiveness, boost innovation, promote sustainable development, strengthen social and territorial cohesion, and support a fair and agile transition to climate neutrality.
The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group), made up of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), reported total financing signed in Spain in 2023 of €11.4 billion, of which approximately €6.8 billion was allocated to climate action and environmental sustainability projects. As for its total assets, the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) has signed a total of €11.4 billion in financing in Spain in 2023, of which approximately €6.8 billion was allocated to climate action and environmental sustainability projects.
