Iberdrola bags €1 billion loan from EIB to set up 2.2 GW RE plants in Europe

Spanish renewable energy firm Iberdrola has signed a new financing agreement worth €1 billion with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for building an extensive network of 19 solar power plants and 3 onshore wind farms in Spain, Portugal and Germany. 

With a total installed capacity of 2.2 GW, the projects envisage a joint investment of more than €1.7 billion, which will accelerate the energy transition and boost supply security, climate action and social cohesion in Europe, according to the company. 

The latest funding is part of the EIB's financing package in support of 'REPowerEU', the EU plan to strengthen Europe's energy autonomy. "This major financing agreement covering three countries highlights the EIB's continued firm commitment to accelerating the energy transition in Europe and to ensuring access to affordable, clean power for all Europeans," said EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix. 

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"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", he added. 

Ignacio Galán, Executive Chairman of Iberdrola, commented on the development, "As one of the main partners of the EIB, it is a pleasure for us to have the Bank support again through this loan, which represents a significant contribution to accelerate Europe's energy independence, achieve climate objectives, and continue creating economic growth and employment in the continent."

Iberdrola says that the some of the photovoltaic solar plants will include hybridization of wind power and battery systems for energy storage for effective integration of renewable energy into grids. Energy storage is a fundamental pillar of the energy transition by adding flexibility to the generation of renewable energy and allowing a better integration into the system, it adds. 

The new installations will provide green energy equal to the average annual energy consumption of more than 1,000,000 households and they will be mostly located in rural and cohesion regions affected by industrial transition.

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The company is planning to invest more than €47 billion between 2023 and 2025 to promote the energy transition, employment and net zero emissions in Europe. 

The financing pledged under EU's REPowerEU is expected to generate an additional €115 billion in investment by 2027, thus making a substantial contribution to Europe's energy independence and to the EIB Group's target of mobilizing €1 trillion in climate finance this decade.