The financing will support Iberdrola in building the 500MW Núñez de Balboa solar plant, located in Extremadura
Image: EIB, ICO and Iberdrola officials at the signing in ceremony. Photo: Courtesy of Iberdrola, S.A.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) have agreed to provide financing for Spanish electric utility Iberdrola for the development of the 500MW Núñez de Balboa photovoltaic power plant.
As per the green financing agreement, EIB will provide €145m (£131m) and ICO will provide €140m (£126.5m) to Iberdrola in the development of the project, the total investment for which will reach €290m (£262m).
The solar plant which will be located between the municipalities of Usagre, Hinojosa del Valle and Bienvenida in Badajoz province in Extremadura. Expected to come online next year, the construction phase of the project is expected to create more than 1000 jobs.
EIB vice-president Emma Navarro said: “We are very happy to be supporting a project that will strengthen Spanish and European leadership in the transition towards a low-emissions economy. Our involvement demonstrates the EIB’s strong commitment to climate action.
“The EU bank is the biggest multilateral financer of projects that contribute to climate action, supporting projects like this one that reduce contaminant emissions while generating economic growth and employment.”
The Núñez de Balboa plant will generate enough electricity to be supplied to 250,000 people, while avoiding 215,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere every year.
Iberdrola president Ignacio Galán said: “This new agreement guarantees our investment in Núñez de Balboa, and we are continuing to work towards our target of tripling our wind and solar capacity in Spain by 2030.”
“Furthermore, the financing deal signed with the EIB and ICO is in line with Iberdrola’s commitment to a sustainable energy model that enables the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
Iberdrola aims to bring Extremadura into the middle of its European renewable strategy
Iberdrola broke ground on the Núñez de Balboa solar project in March, this year. The project is part of the company’s expansion of clean energy in Spain, under which 10GW in renewable energy will be installed by 2030, while creating up to 20,000 jobs.
By 2022, the company plans to install another 2GW in solar and wind in Extremadura. The projects under development in Extremadura and the rest of Spain form part of the €34bn (£30.7bn) global investments that the company will make between 2018 and 2022.