Oil and gas company Galp has secured loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the construction of more than 2.1GWp of solar projects across Spain and Portugal.
The largest agreement consists of an EIB green energy loan of up to €325 million (US$378 million) to finance the construction of around 2GWp of utility-scale PV plants in Spain that are expected to break ground in the next three years. These installations will have capacities ranging from 24MWp to 449MW.
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The EIB, which is the European Union’s lending arm, said the portfolio could be supported by a further €325 million that could be signed in a project finance format at a later stage.
Alongside this, the EIB will provide a €40 million green energy loan for Galp to build and operate four interconnected solar plants with a total capacity of 144MWp in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.
Having created a joint venture last year with construction firm ACS Group to develop 2.9GWp of solar projects in Spain, Lisbon-headquartered Galp has since started construction work on its first utility-scale PV plant in Portugal.
The company last week entered Brazil’s renewables sector with a deal to acquire and develop solar projects with a total capacity of 594MWp. It is aiming to reach 12GW of operational renewables capacity by 2030.
“Our plan to reshape our portfolio is already underway, with Galp accelerating the integration of low-to-no carbon energy solutions in our businesses. The support from EIB is key to help us increase the pace of such projects’ development,” said Galp CEO Andy Brown.
The EIB said in 2019 that it would end financing for fossil fuel energy projects from the end of 2021. This year the bank has provided independent power producer Solaria up to €54 million through a project finance agreement for seven solar plants in Spain totalling 261MW.
It also provided a loan package to a subsidiary of Total Eren to support the development of a 100MW solar farm in Uzbekistan.
On the latest deal, EIB vice-president Ricardo Mourinho Félix said: “We are delighted to support Galp in its decarbonisation pathway and join forces to promote climate action and renewable energy generation in both Spain and Portugal.”
