>@Andrea Morawski/EIB

Predirec EnR 2030, a EUR 200m bond loan fund, is dedicated to financing renewable energy developers, industrialists and operators in Europe. It contributes to meeting the commitments made by the European Investment Bank (EIB) since 2015 to promote the energy transition.

The signing ceremony took place on Thursday 8 March 2018 during a visit to a wind farm developed and operated by Valorem. This project, inaugurated in 2016, is an excellent example of the type of operation that the EIB will be financing in the future through the Predirec EnR 2030 Fund.

The Predirec EnR 2030 fund, which brings together several institutional investors, is intended to finance European renewable energy developers and producers via long-term loans constituting an attractive and necessary alternative to traditional sources for their development projects and investment in new production capacities.

Certified under the French Energy and Ecological Transition for the Climate (TEEC) system since the label’s creation, the Fund provides a quantified environmental indicator: at the end of 2017, the financed assets corresponded to 146 640 tonnes of CO2 equivalent saved per year and the annual electricity consumption of 50 000 households.

The EIB Group, consisting of the EIB and the European Investment Fund (EIF), has become a key player in getting investment back on track in France. In 2017, it provided over EUR 8.6bn of new financing vie 105 operations (67 by the EIB and 38 by the EIF). The EIB Group’s operations in France in 2017 were centred on three key strategic areas of activity: climate action – with a historically high percentage of projects (55%) dedicated to this priority segment; support for innovation (32%); and the Juncker Plan, accounting for a third of financing activity in this respect. It was precisely the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker Plan, that made the EUR 50m investment in the Predirec EnR 2030 Fund possible, as the EU guarantee enables the EIB to accept riskier projects.

“The finance agreement that we are signing today demonstrates the EU’s commitment to renewable energies. It reflects the climate action goals that we set ourselves under the Paris Agreement and confirmed recently at the One Planet Summit,” commented EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “In 2017, the EIB dedicated 27% of its activity to the fight against climate change in Europe. France is at the forefront of this ambition, with, I am proud to say, 55% of our financing going to this priority in 2017, and this ratio is even higher if only the projects financed under the Juncker Plan are considered. We will continue along this path in 2018 and I am pleased today to make our European contribution to Valorem under the Juncker Plan via the fund managed by Acodi for the development of around 200 MW of additional production capacity, equal to the consumption of around 110 000 households.”

Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Vice-President responsible for the Energy Union confirmed: "Today’s decision demonstrates our conviction that renewable energy is the best investment for a clean and prosperous future. The European Union will continue to support private enterprises that are participating in the energy transition, via our internal market.”

“It is good that European financing is being provided to construct renewable energy projects. Finance is crucial for the energy transition,” observed Valorem’s CEO Jean-Yves Grandidier.

“The financing proposed by Fund will enable Acofi to complete its overall financing offer for industrialists in the renewable energy sector. The EIB is helping us to increase the size and number of these financing operations dedicated to the new projects of these promoters. We are proud to accompany the EIB and the institutional investors in their activities aimed at a low-carbon economy,” stated Acofi Gestion’s Deputy CEO Nicolas Fourt.