Spanish utility Endesa SA (BME:ELE) has secured sustainability-linked loans for a total of EUR 500 million (USD 545.6m) to support gigawatt-scale deployment of wind and solar energy in Spain.
The company said on Thursday it had signed agreements to obtain EUR 300 million from Spanish state-owned bank ICO and a sum of EUR 200 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The loan from ICO will complement the financing from the EIB and support the construction of 20 solar photovoltaic plants and eight wind farms, which started in 2021. These projects will result in 2.35 GW of solar and 0.55 GW of wind power, Endesa said.
The EIB loan is part of a EUR-700-million framework programme under which Endesa already borrowed EUR 250 million on two occasions, in 2021 and 2022. The entire programme was designed to support the construction of 1.5 GWp of solar, 0.4 GW of onshore wind and the infrastructure needed to connect the facilities to the grid.
Overall, the EU bank will co-finance 16 commercial solar projects and eight wind power projects under the programme.
The loan conditions will improve if Endesa cuts scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions, which an independent third party will certify. As of the end of 2022, Endesa emits 205 gr CO2eq/kWh. Its target is to bring the emission to below 145 gr CO2eq/kWh by December 2025, the utility group added.
(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.091)
