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Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency

Renewable energy and energy efficiency are key priorities for the EIB in its pursuit of a "greener" energy sector as well as economic and employment growth. In line with the "Action Plan for EU energy policy 2007-2009" adopted in March 2007 by the European Council and with EU policy and legislative initiatives to fight climate change, the EIB has considerably reinforced its contribution in the areas of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE).

Since 2004, EIB loans for renewable and energy efficiency projects have increased from 25% to more than 50% of the Bank's total energy production lending. The Bank has also adopted a series of measures to strengthen its support to RE and EE:

  • Increase EIB financing share of total costs from 50 to 75%, in particular for "emerging RE technologies" and investments contributing significantly to EE
  • Update of the selection criteria for RE technologies
  • Development of financial instruments, including framework facilities, for smaller-scale investments and use of structured finance and investment funds
  • Systematic review of EE issues when assessing projects to be supported by the Bank.

EIB lending to Renewable Energy

In 2007, the EIB set itself a quantitative lending target for the first time: EUR 0.6 bn for financing renewable energies. However, the 2007 target and subsequent annual targets were consistently exceeded, reaching EUR 2.2bn in 2008.

Building on this development, the Bank has now further increased its targets for 2009 and onwards and set itself a floor that at least 20% of future energy projects in the EU should cover renewables.

From 2004-2006 the trend in renewable energies financing was particularly strong for wind energy. In the meantime, other renewable sources, particularly solar and biomass, have taken up a more prominent share of EIB renewable finance appraisal.

Increased support to Energy Efficiency

The Bank also supports EU climate change and energy policies via its promotion of a rational use of energy and lending to energy efficient projects.

The EIB's energy efficiency (EE) target areas include for instance financing EE investment programmes in different sectors such as social housing, schools, industry, etc. as well as combined heat and power (CHP) plants and district heating networks. EE considerations are mainstreamed into all EIB operations, working with promoters to extend the EE potential of projects.

As part of its renewed emphasis on energy efficiency, the Bank gives priority to the financing of two broad categories of projects:

  • Those which result in improvements in energy efficiency equal to at least a 20% reduction in energy consumption compared to the situation without the project;
  • Those which, while improving energy efficiency by less than 20%, generate energy savings that account for at least 50% of the total investment cost.

In addition to these central criteria, EU criteria, such as those set out in the Cogeneration Directive and the Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings, are applied. In most cases, the Bank asks for energy audits to assess investments according to these criteria.

Furthermore, a number of recent joint EC/EIB initiatives provide further support for energy efficiency:



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