EIB loans €150 million for eight Italian projects

ITALY: The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a €150 million loan, its biggest for the Italian wind industry this year, to finance eight wind farms with a total capacity of 165MW.

by Craig Richard 23 November 2017

E2i is due to start working on two projects in southern region Puglia later this year (pic credit: E2i)

The loan to EDF’s Italian arm Edison will help its wind energy venture E2i Energie Speciali complete the projects in central and southern Italy, which it won in a state auction in 2016.

The loan may be deployed in tranches, each with a term of 15 years, over a period of two years, the EIB stated.

Six of the projects are currently under construction, including both new and full repowering sites in Abruzzo, Campania and Sicily.

E2i, which is 70%-owned by infrastructure investors F2i (Fondi Italiani per le Infrastructure), is due to start work on two wind farms in Puglia is set to begin later this year.

"Granting us this line of credit encourages our dedication to renewable energy development, while also highlighting the EIB's appreciation for the validity of this project, which supports sustainable development, especially in southern Italy", explained Marc Benayoun, Edison's chief executive officer.

The additional capacity will mean E2i's renewables portfolio, which also includes solar and hydroelectric projects, expand to more than 700MW.