Under the terms of the agreement, the EIB will provide funds to support the Solar Storm 200 project involving the construction of 15 solar PV power plants
Image: The agreement was signed at the EU bank's COP25 stand by EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and IM2 Energía Solar CEO Enrique Selva. Photo: courtesy of European Investment Bank (EIB).
Spanish multinational IM2 Energía Solar has secured a €26m loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to build and operate photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Spain.
Under the terms of the agreement, the EIB will provide funds to support the Solar Storm 200 project involving the construction of 15 solar PV power plants worth a combined 218MW in the country.
The solar parks will be located in four autonomous communities namely Extremadura, Andalusia, the Valencia Region and Murcia.
The solar project will prevent release of 116,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly
The project will offset 116, 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and is expected to generate 400 jobs during the construction phase and an additional 20 permanent jobs will be created.
IM2 Energía Solar CEO Enrique Selva said: “the Spanish photovoltaic power sector is growing exponentially and Solar Storm is a major opportunity to invest in clean energy, in a project combining sustainability and long-term profitability.
“We have the opportunity to take advantage of Spain’s high levels of sunshine (the highest in Europe) and a highly cost-effective technology to generate energy that can compete economically with other technologies.”
The agreement has been structured to make the EU lender an equity partner in the project. The Solar Storm 200 is also supported by commercial banks through project finance.
The agreement will facilitate Solar Storm to be launched as the investment platform of Umbrella Capital – IM2 Energía Solar’s holding company – with an Independent Power Producer (IPP) focus and becoming a renewable power producer.
EIB vice-president Emma Navarro said: “It is a pleasure to be at the Climate Change Conference supporting projects such as this that will help cut CO2 emissions and increase the amount of renewable energy generated in Spain.
“Our country has great potential for producing this kind of energy and the EIB wants to help take advantage of this. As the EU climate bank, the EIB is working to ensure that Europe leads the response to the climate emergency.”