The European Investment Bank (EIB) has committed €400 million (US$437 million) to support the solar and battery storage development plans of Greek renewables developer Mytilineos.
The commitment forms part of a broader investment scheme from Mytilineos that will support the development of 2.6GW of solar PV and storage assets across the EU through 2027. The total sum of the investment is expected to be around €2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion).
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Signed in late 2023 (21st December), the EIB said that its €400 million investment forms part of its support plan for the EU’s REPowerEU scheme which was introduced in 2022 to lessen the bloc’s dependence on fossil fuels, most notably Russian gas following the invasion of Ukraine.
In July 2023, the EIB announced a €15 billion expansion to its support for REPowerEU, targeting both renewable energy capacity deployments and asset manufacturing.
The EIB’s financing will support Mytilineos’ projects in “less developed” areas of the EU with a below-average income per capita. It will focus on the developer’s native Greece, as well as a range of other countries across the continent. In addition, the EIB said that it will help to upgrade existing electricity grids to ease the management and incorporation of renewable energy sources.
In September 2023, the EIB signed a €1.7 billion financing framework with Spanish solar developer Solaria to develop 120 solar PV sites across Spain, Portugal and Italy as part of its REPowerEU financing.
“Scaling up renewable energy investment is crucial to harnessing Greece’s solar and energy storage potential and contribute to Europe’s energy transition,” said Jean-Christophe Laloux, director general at the EIB. “To reach ambitious carbon reduction targets, Europe’s green and sustainable future must be significantly accelerated with projects such as this one, increasing the use of renewables, storage infrastructure, and preventing waste.”
Christos Gavalas, chief treasury & IR officer and board member at Mytilineos, said: “Leveraging on the long standing and valuable co-operation we have with EIB, we have secured the Bank’s significant support through this €400 million milestone agreement that will further strengthen Mytilineos’ financial capacity to accelerate the deployment of its investments in solar PV parks and battery energy storage systems projects.”
Its energy sector business saw significant growth for Mytilineos in the first half of 2023, posting €1.99 billion in turnover and a 92% increase in EBITDA compared with the same period in 2022. Shortly afterwards it sold 211MW of PV to fellow Greek fossil fuels company HELLENiQ in Romania.
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