Summary sheet
Financing to a lending platform specialised in small renewable projects in Spain.
The borrower will make loans available to finance the construction of these small energy plants.
The project consists of a senior framework loan to a vehicle that has been established for the purpose of providing tailor-made senior loans to solar PV and wind onshore projects ("SPVs") in Spain.
The Project is eligible under Invest EU, Annex II, under the development of the energy sector in accordance with the Energy Union priorities, including security of energy supply, clean energy transition and the commitments taken under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.
The project financed by the vehicle produces electricity from low carbon sources (solar PV and onshore wind) in Spain addressing the market failure of negative climate and environmental externalities, through the reduction of carbon emissions and air pollution.
The project supports EU Renewable Energy (RE) objectives and supports Spain in meeting its commitments with respect to renewable energy targets and greenhouse gas emission reductions set out in its Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and to the REPowerEU.
The sub-projects portfolio will rely on merchant risks and will not benefit from any RE supporting schemes. The project thereby contributes to the policy objective of supporting market integration of renewable energy projects.
The financing of this project also contributes to Bank's lending priority objectives on Energy (Renewable Energy) as well as on Climate Action (transversal) and economic and social Cohesion (transversal).
The project is eligible under InvestEU as it supports the development of the energy sector in accordance with the Energy Union priorities, including security of energy supply, clean energy transition and the commitments taken under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, in particular through the expansion of the generation, supply or use of clean and sustainable renewable and safe and sustainable other zero and low-emission energy sources and solutions.
The EIB loan has some characteristics that are difficult to find in the market namely lending to a fund, the disbursement in different tranches depending on the allocation of the sub-projects and the bullet repayment profile which makes this loan innovative.
EIB contribution will allow the Borrower to attract investors into the Borrower and blend EIB financing with the investors cost of capital for providing more competitive financing to the final recipients which are project exposed to electricity market prices. Moreover, the third party investors into the Borrower will gain comfort by the fact of the individual approval of each allocation made by the Bank, where due diligence will be performed.
The project would not have been carried out (to the same extent) by the EIB without the Invest EU support.
The individual projects and most of the ancillary infrastructure fall under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU amended by the Directive 2014/52/EU. Overhead transmission lines for the interconnection of the schemes to the grid, if falling under the Annex I due to their technical characteristics, are expected to be subject to an EIA process. The individual projects are currently at various stages of development.
The promoter has been assessed by the EIB as being a private company not being subject to EU rules on public procurement or concessions. However, if at the project appraisal, the EIB were to conclude that the promoter is subject to the EU public procurement legislation then the Bank would duly inform the Commission Services and would require the promoter to apply those rules.