Summary sheet
The project consists of an intermediated lending facility that will support predominantly private companies promoting small and mid-sized renewable energy projects in France.
The aim is to facilitate investments that support national and European targets related to renewable energy (RE) generation. As such, the project contributes to EU energy objectives, notably to make energy sustainable, secure and affordable.
The Project will contribute to the timely deployment in the next years of renewable energy generation capacity in France, which will be key to meet the mid/long term national and EU energy objectives as well as the REPowerEU Action Plan. The Project will also support the EIB's priority lending objectives concerning renewable energy and will contribute fully towards the Bank's climate action objectives.
In terms of addressing market failures, the project will produce electricity from low carbon sources and thereby help to address the market failure of negative environmental externalities, through the reduction of carbon and air pollution.
On project quality, the project is supported by adequate capabilities / governance of the promoter. In terms of project results, it is expected to have a positive economic rate of return, considering the economic value of the electricity generated. Therefore, the project is expected to generate a positive broader social benefit by generating clean and renewable power at a cost (LCOE) reasonably below the cost alternatives in France.
The EIB's intervention will take the form of a funding line to BPCE, a well-known intermediary of EIB's support to the renewable energy sector in France. The funds will be intermediated through BPCE group's regional network, Caisse d'Epargne Provence-Alpes-Corse ("CEPAC"). CEPAC will on-lend the EIB funds at attractive financing conditions to eligible projects, thereby facilitating their implementation.
Based on the GDP proxy, around 59% of the financing volume is expected to be invested in cohesion priority regions.
This operation will generate environmental benefits by supporting projects that help to mitigate climate change. CEPAC will ensure the projects' compliance with national and European environmental and biodiversity regulations as well as support the Bank's Public Disclosure Policy, which aims at facilitating access by the public to environmentally relevant information.
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU Procurement Directives, as appropriate.