The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a €575 million (US$637 million) loan to Spanish oil major Repsol to roll out 1.1GW of renewables in Spain.
The financing signed yesterday (25 July) amounts to €400 million, the first part of the total approved loan and will support the Spanish oil major’s goal to reach 20GW of installed renewable capacity by 2030.
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Projects are expected to be operational before the end of 2025, with 35% of the projects located in regions where per-capita income is less than 75% of the EU average to meet EIB’s commitment to economic and social cohesion.
Both entities inked a previous loan worth €120 million in December 2022 for the construction and operation of the first advanced biofuels production plant in the southeastern region of Murcia, Spain.
Most of Repsol’s renewable installed capacity is located in Spain, with a global portfolio of 1.9GW of renewables in operation, while the company has a portfolio of projects in different stages of development in the US, Chile, where it powered the first phase of a 595MW solar PV project in May, Portugal and Italy, where the company targets to develop 825MW of solar PV.
With this loan Repsol joins the likes of Spanish utilities Iberdrola and Endesa to receive loans – of €1 billion and €500 million, respectively – from the EIB to finance the development of renewable projects across Spain and Europe. Last year the EIB committed to financing more than €17 billion to the energy transition in Europe, with Spain receiving €3.1 billion, the second largest beneficiary in Europe.
This operation contributes to the REPowerEU objective to accelerate the growth of renewables and increase energy security throughout the European Union to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. A commitment for which the EIB increased its funding towards REPowerEU earlier this month with an extra €15 billion, on top of the already €30 billion funding announced last November.
“With this operation, the EIB is continuing to accelerate the energy transition in Spain by increasing renewable energy generation capacity and supporting Repsol’s decarbonisation strategy,” said EIB vice-president, Ricardo Mourinho Félix.