EIB Grants €200M for Renewable Energy Projects in Italy
October 5, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
Under the Sept. 17 agreement, the EIB will loan Centrobanca €200 million, which will be used mainly for small and medium-scale projects.
IHS Climate Change & Clean Energy Services Solar Photovoltaic Standards Wind Energy StandardsSpecifically, energy efficiency projects, plus hydroelectric power, wind power, solar photovoltaic energy and biomass plants will be eligible for financing.
The financing plan provides that the EIB will cover up to 50% of investment costs, with Centrobanca undertaking to provide the rest. In this way, projects worth a total of around €400 million can be implemented under the framework loan.
In some cases, the EIB will be able to finance up to 75% of the project cost - for instance, when a new plant in an energy efficiency scheme generates an energy saving of more than 20%.
Centrobanca will be responsible for identifying and appraising the projects, which will then be submitted to the EIB for approval.
The term of the sub-loans granted will be up to 20 years for photovoltaic power generation projects and up to 15 years for all other schemes.
The operation underlines the EIB's commitment to financing projects combating climate change - one of its top priorities - in Italy.
It also forms part of Centrobanca's efforts to finance renewable energy investment by both companies and institutional investors.
Background
The European Investment Bank supports the strategic and policy objectives of the European Union (EU) by granting long-term loans for economically viable investment projects. The EIB's shareholders are the 27 EU member states.
Italy is one of the four leading shareholders, along with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, each holding a 16.2% stake in the bank. At the end of 2008, the EIB's total financing amounted to €355 billion, of which €45 billion went to Italy.
Centrobanca
Centrobanca is the corporate and investment bank of the UBI Banca Group, which specializes in medium-sized businesses. It offers its customers a full range of services, either directly or through its eight regional banks.
Source: European Commission (EC).