EIB Backs €2 Bn Investment to Scale up use of Renewable Energy

EIB has approved new financing of EUR 3.4 billion to accelerate the shift towards renewable energy and sustainable transport.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced that it has approved new financing of EUR 3.4 billion to accelerate the shift towards renewable energy and sustainable transport, corporate innovation, improved housing, education and communications. Of which, EUR 2 billion has been committed to scaling up the use of renewable energy.

“The green transformation of the global economy gathers speed. The green energy and sustainable transport projects approved by the EIB, the EU’s climate bank, demonstrate the vision, ambition and partnership needed to slash greenhouse gas emissions this decade and beyond. I am thrilled that the European Union agreed to be climate-neutral by 2050”, said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.

The Board of Directors of the EIB have approved financing for the development of renewable energy projects in France and Germany, the increase in the use of solar power by homeowners across Spain, wind power in Ireland, upgraded energy distribution in Italy, and a pioneering photovoltaic plant that uses batteries and hydrogen to store energy.

The financing institution has also agreed to invest EUR 700 million to back the acquisition of a fleet of hydrogen-powered trains including the installation of hydrogen refuelling facilities in the Netherlands and to upgrade regional rail services in Germany. The EU Bank also approved financing to increase use of renewable energy at airports across Spain. 

In March, the bank had granted a EUR 350 million credit line to a consortium made up of EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge and wpd to co-finance the construction of a wind farm off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer in France. This financing will be guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

Totalling an estimated EUR 2 billion, the project involves the construction of 64 wind turbines located over 10 km off the French coast. With a capacity of 450 MW, it will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 630,000 people, i.e. over 90 percent of the population of Calvados. It is expected to enter service in 2024.