In a major effort to advance renewable energy, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide a €500 million ($541 million) counter-guarantee to Deutsche Bank. This support will allow Deutsche Bank to create a €1 billion portfolio dedicated to investing in wind farms across the European Union. This initiative is the first step in the EIB’s broader €5 billion plan to bolster wind power equipment manufacturers within Europe, part of the EU’s comprehensive wind power strategy aimed at maintaining a competitive and resilient wind energy supply chain.
The collaboration between the EIB and Deutsche Bank is expected to stimulate up to €8 billion in private investments. While wind power has been a significant success for the EU, the EIB acknowledged that challenges remain, including supply chain disruptions, inflation, and slow project permitting. The EU’s net zero industry act, approved in May, seeks to tackle these permitting issues and accelerate the production of net zero technologies within the bloc.
The EIB’s €5 billion initiative is expected to add 32GW of wind power capacity in the EU. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the share of wind and solar power in the EU’s total energy supply is projected to rise to 30% this year, surpassing fossil fuel output.
As the EU’s lending arm, owned by its member states, the EIB increased its climate finance to €44.3 billion last year. The bank ensures that all new projects it finances align with the Paris climate agreement and explicitly excludes investments in fossil fuels that do not contribute to CO2 emission reductions.
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