EIB's share of the loan is supported by guarantee from European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
The Austrian wind farm will feature 26 wind turbines. (Credit: Pexels from Pixabay)
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and UniCredit Bank Austria have agreed to provide about €107.4m ($128.7m) funding for the development of a 143MW wind farm in Austria.
EIB said that its share is supported by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is said to be the main financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.
The bank is providing €71.6m ($85.4m) and UniCredit Bank Austria €35.8m ($42.7m) for the project which is expected to be one of Austria’s largest wind farms.
UniCredit Bank Austria board member Susanne Wendler said: “With this fresh start after the coronavirus crisis, we now have a unique opportunity to join forces and drive the Austrian economy’s transition to a sustainable, climate-friendly system.
“Banks bear a particular responsibility in this task because the business decisions we make are capable of generating far greater leverage than those of any other sector.”
The wind farm to commence operations in the end of 2021
The wind farm will feature 26 wind turbines and the power generated by the turbines will be sufficient to power approximately 90 000 homes.
The project, which is anticipated to commence operations in the end of 2021, will be run by Puspok Group, a family business based in Burgenland.
Since late 1990s, the company has been developing and operating wind projects in Austria and currently supplies electricity to around 160,000 households in the country.
EIB Vice-President Andrew McDowell said: “The development of wind power is playing an important role in this energy transition.
“As the EU climate bank, we have made the transition to renewable sources of energy a key policy objective and a priority sector for our financing.”
Recently, EIB and ESB Networks have signing a loan facility of €150m to support the roll out of 2.4 million smart meters in Ireland by the end of 2024.