The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted, with InvestEU support, a €50 million loan to Asja Ambiente Italia to co-finance the construction of nine photovoltaic and wind power plants in Basilicata, Campania, Sardinia and Sicily. Turin-based company Asja Ambiente Italia has over 25 years of experience in developing, constructing and managing renewable energy projects. The new plants, which must be operational by 2027, will have a total capacity of 238 MWp and generate some 460 GWh of energy per year, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 190 000 households in Italy.
In concrete terms, the EIB loan will help develop and co-finance the construction of nine small and medium-sized renewable energy plants: two wind farms in Basilicata and Campania, repowering of a wind farm in Sicily, and six photovoltaic projects in Basilicata, Sicily and Sardinia.
A guarantee backs the EIB financing under InvestEU, the European Union’s investment programme that aims to trigger €272 billion worth of investments by 2027 thanks to an initial guarantee of €26.2 billion.
“Operations like this one signed with Asja demonstrate the EIB’s strong commitment to generating renewable energy to help combat climate change and achieve the objectives of the Green Deal. As the EU climate bank, the EIB is supporting the European Commission’s REPowerEU programme by committing to an additional €30 billion in investment over the next five years aimed at unlocking more than €115 billion worth of investments to promote energy transition and end the European Union’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.
European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni added: “Accelerating the green transition across Europe is a top priority. This project is an excellent example of InvestEU’s potential to accelerate our green transition. I am delighted that, with this agreement, InvestEU will help harness the wind and sun in Basilicata, Sardinia and Sicily to provide clean, renewable energy to thousands of families in Italy.”
“The planet offers endless energy resources: renewable energy sources, which enable us to produce electricity sustainably and competitively, increasing the independence and security of our country. Asja will be able to build and manage new renewable plants with increasingly sustainable technological solutions. Thanks to the EIB’s financing, we will build new wind and photovoltaic plants, enabling us to meet the needs of 190 000 equivalent households every year and prevent the release of five million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over the next 20 years,” said Chairman of Asja Ambiente Italia Agostino Re Rebaudengo.
The loan also falls under the EIB’s Green Developer Financing Programme, which targets projects of companies in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency and green mobility. Small and medium-sized promoter companies are key in providing new facilities and investing in the renewable energy sector and energy efficiency measures. They are also crucial to the energy transition process. The EIB financing relies on the company’s financial and economic stability, and cash flows from its existing plant portfolio to fund new projects at an early stage. This facility enables promoters to monetise future cash flows. Together with loans from other financial institutions, this gives them access to the resources they need to accelerate the development of new projects.
Source: https://www.eib.org/
Image source: Courtesy of EIB; Shutterstock image for illustration purposes only
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