BRAZILIAN WIND PORTFOLIO (NEOENERGIA FL I)

The project consists of two clusters of onshore wind farms. Each wind farm has a capacity between 27 and 49 MW, for an aggregate installed capacity of 613 MW. The first cluster is located in the Brazilian State of Paraiba in the northeast of the country, and is composed of seven sub-projects for a total installed capacity of 239 MW. The second cluster is located in the Brazilian State of Piaui, and is composed of eight sub-projects for a total installed capacity of 374 MW. The operation consists of an allocation under Framework Loan Neoenergia Green Energy FL (2019-0576).

The project is expected to contribute to the External Lending Mandate 2014-2020 objectives including climate change mitigation. The operation is well aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 13 (Climate Action) and, by mainstreaming job creation, empowerment of woman entrepreneurship and gender equality (as per the promoter's mother company's current policies and future plans), addresses goal 5 (Gender Equality). The operation will also contribute to the EIB's priority objectives for energy sector lending related to renewable energy sources, in line with the EIB's Energy Lending Criteria, its Climate Action objectives, and in particular with the Green Deal Team Europe-Brazil Initiative (in particular the Sub-Initiative on Sustainable and Smart Cities).

If the plants were located within the EU, they would fall under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (2014/52/EU amending the 2011/92/EU), requiring the competent authorities to determine whether an EIA is required. A number of gaps were identified with respect to compliance with EIB's Environmental and Social Standards for projects subject to a comprehensive environmental and social assessment. All such gaps are being addressed by the Promoter. The Promoter's capability to implement the projects in compliance with the EIB's Environmental and Social Standards is deemed acceptable.

It is required from the Promoter to ensure that implementation of the project will be done in accordance with the EIB's Guide to Procurement. The EIB will not finance plants for which the procurement process is impacted by local content requirements non-compliant with the above mentioned Guide to Procurement.