EIB and Galp agree on financing of 732 million in Spain and Portugal
NIn a statement sent to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), a Galp indicates that it has signed three financing agreements with the EIB for “the construction of solar energy parks and the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the Iberian Peninsula, promoting climate action and social cohesion in some regions of the weakest regions in terms of climate and economic resilience.”
“Globally, Galp and the EIB signed a total financing of 406.5 million euros, which could increase to 731.5 million euros at a later stage, with an additional approved amount of 325 million euros”, the statement said.
In total, the three projects support climate action and social cohesion, and will generate, on average, a total of 3.6 Terawatt-hour (TWh) of renewable energy/year, equivalent to the energy consumption of approximately 940,000 homes, the company said. , indicating that “the bank of the European Union (EU) is highly committed to the EU’s efforts to be ‘climate neutral’ by 2050.
Through the Climate Bank Roadmap, the EIB intends to mobilize a trillion investments in climate actions and environmental sustainability during the critical decade ending in 2030 and to that end, the bank will gradually increase the funding it allocates to these goals to 50% until 2025, reference the statement.
The note also states that “Galp is fully committed to being a ‘zero net emissions’ company by 2050, with intermediate decarbonization targets by 2030” and that “in its transformational journey, Galp is one of the main producers of photovoltaic solar energy in the Iberian Peninsula, and pledged to allocate half of its net ‘capex’ from 2021-2025 to projects related to a transition to a low-carbon energy model, including 30% in renewable energy and 5% in new business” .
Among the three loans, one, for 41.5 million euros, is intended to promote Galp’s electric mobility project, which consists of the installation of EV charging points in Spain and Portugal.
“The road sector accounts for three quarters of all transport transport in the EU and it will not be possible to achieve the EU’s carbon neutral target by 2050 without a crucial shift to electric mobility in the road sector,” he says, adding that “the project provides for the implementation of 5,500 charging points by 2025, 55% of which will be included in less developed and transitional cohesion regions throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
Galp further states that “the agreement is also expected to contribute to the development of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure market, improving technological performance, starting initial equipment costs, and mobilizing investments in the electric vehicle industries, thus contributing to more efficient vehicles and gains”.
In compliance with the EIB’s Transport Lending Policy, the project is supported by the Cleaner Transport Facility (CTF) and benefits from the Connecting Europe Facility Debt, a financial instrument that supports the objectives of the CTF.
Galp intends to expand its offer of charging stations to 10,000 by 2025 in the Iberian Peninsula.
Another loan from the EIB, worth 40 million euros, is to finance Galp’s photovoltaic project, which consists of photovoltaic solar energy parks with a capacity of 144 MWp in the Algarve region of Portugal.
This Galp project consists of the construction and operation of four interconnected photovoltaic solar energy parks with a total capacity of 144 MWp in the Algarve (southern Portugal), in the municipality of Alcoutim (Viçoso, 48.0 MWp; Pereiro, 18.7 MWp ; São Marcos, 48.9 MWp; and Albercas, 28.4 MWp).
Once operational, the four solar energy parks are expected to produce an average of 230 GWh of renewable energy per year, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 72,800 homes.
Of the three EIB loans, the largest, of 325 million euros, is intended to finance Galp’s photovoltaic project, which consists of a portfolio with a capacity of around two Global Warming Potential (GWP) of solar energy parks in Spain, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 866,400 homes.
An additional amount of 325 million euros can also be signed under the Project Finance format at a later stage, which means that the overall EIB financing for this project could amount to 650 million euros.
“We are pleased to support Galp in its decarbonization path and to unite reduces to promote climate actions and the generation of renewable energy in both Spain and Portugal. employment and social cohesion,” said EIB vice president Ricardo Mourinho Félix, quoted in the statement.
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