Spain

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved framework financing of up to €1.7 billion for Solaria to support the construction of some 120 photovoltaic power plants. Mostly located in Spain, as well as Italy and Portugal, they will have a total capacity of approximately 5.6 GW and will produce an estimated 9.29 TWh a year. The power plants are expected to come into operation by the end of 2028. This is Solaria’s most ambition financing operation to date.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a venture debt loan of €15 million, backed by the InvestEU programme, with CrowdFarming, an online platform for European farmers to sell directly to end-consumers. The EIB financing will help to boost the research, development and innovation (RDI) activities of the company by enhancing their digital marketplace and developing tools that promote sustainable agricultural practices across Europe, and a more sustainable and fair food supply chain.

The EIB Group — made up of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Investment Fund (EIF) — has invested in senior and mezzanine tranches of a new asset-backed securities (ABS) issuance worth €360 million with Banco Santander. This investment, made in the Santander Consumo 5 securitisation fund of consumer loans issued by Banco Santander, will support working capital and liquidity needs, and address the investment constraints of Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), small mid-caps and mid-caps. The deal will enable Banco Santander to free capital and direct up to €990 million (or almost the triple of the EIB Group’s investment) into the real economy, including up to €300 million for green projects.