We sign a €55m green loan with the EIB and Caja Rural de Soria to build a wind farm in Castile and León

• The Buniel wind farm, in the province of Burgos, will have an installed capacity of around 100 MW and will generate clean energy to supply 69,700 homes. 

  It will become one of the most powerful wind farms in Castile and León and will avoid the emission of 90,000t CO2/year.

  The project contributes to the REPowerEU Plan, which aims to end Europe's dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports and accelerate the ecological transition.
   

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €55 million green loan with a joint venture between Iberdrola (75%) and Caja Rural de Soria (25%) to develop one of Castile and León's most powerful wind farms.

The Buniel wind farm, located in the province of Burgos, will have a total installed capacity of around 100 megawatts (MW) and the capacity to supply around 69,700 homes with clean energy. The renewable energy produced will prevent the emission of 90,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The new project will involve a total investment of approximately €100 million. The facility will become an economic asset for the rural localities in the area, generating up to 200 jobs in the construction phase and around 10 jobs during operation.

The project is located in Castile and León, one of the EU's cohesion regions. It therefore contributes to the EIB's regional development goals, which prioritise projects in regions with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita below the EU average.

"We are pleased to finance this wind farm, which is unique in many respects and will provide a total installed capacity of around 100 megawatts (MW)," said EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho FélixExternal link, opens in new window. . "The project will contribute to Spain's and Europe's climate goals and act as an economic and employment driver for a cohesive region like Castilla y León."

For his part, the CEO of Iberdrola Spain, Mario Ruiz-Tagle, stressed that "Spain has great potential in renewable energies and with initiatives such as this one we contribute to making our country a benchmark in the sector, facilitating investments that promote the transition towards an economy that is less dependent on fossil fuels and that contributes, at the same time, to generating economic growth and employment".

The president of Caja Rural de Soria, Carlos Martínez Izquierdo, who is also the president of the company promoting the wind farm, stresses "the importance of having a presence in the economy 'attached to the territory'. The one linked to renewable energies. And where the savings bank already has more than 25 years' experience, which began in Soria. Investing in 'energy freedom' makes us more economically stable as a country, something much more evident in this adverse geopolitical situation that has made the need for clean, local energy an immediate necessity". He also added that "the turbines have been designed and manufactured practically 100% in Spain, and assembled in Castille and León, more specifically in Ágreda (Soria)".

This operation contributes to EU and Spanish policy priorities. On the one hand, it contributes to the European Commission's 'REPowerEU' Plan, presented in May 2022 by the European Commission, which aims to accelerate the ecological transition and end Europe's dependence on Russian imports of fossil fuels. At the national level, the project also contributes to meeting Spain's renewable energy targets for 2030 of 42%, set out in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030.

The present financing can be categorised as an EIB Green Loan as it is a loan with 100% eligibility under the climate action/renewable energy framework. Within the green loan market, the characteristics of this loan make it fully compliant with the requirements of the EIB's Climate Awareness Bonds (CAB) programme. As such, this transaction is eligible for allocation to its portfolio of lending operations financed through the issuance of CABs.

The EIB and energy security

The European Investment Bank (EIB) External link, opens in new window. is the long-term financing institution of the European Union, whose shareholders are its Member States. The EIB finances sound investment, contributing to the achievement of EU policy objectives.

Over the past decade, the European Investment Bank Group has channelled almost €106 billion into the EU's energy sector. This much-needed investment is now helping Europe overcome the crisis caused by the sudden cut in Russian gas supplies. In 2022 alone, financial support underwritten by the EIB totalled more than EUR 17bn for energy efficiency, renewable energy, power and storage projects within the EU, helping to strengthen the resilience of the European economy.

In October, the EIB's Board of Directors decided to raise the Group's clean energy financing volumes to record levels in support of the REPowerEU goal, which aims to end Europe's dependence on Russian fossil fuel imports. A further EUR 30bn will be invested over the next five years, adding to the EIB's already strong support for the energy sector in the EU. The specific REPowerEU package is estimated to mobilise an additional EUR 115bn in additional investment by 2027, making a substantial contribution to Europe's energy independence and to the EIB Group's goal of mobilising EUR 1 trillion over this decade for climate finance.

You can find out more about the EIB's support for the energy sector hereExternal link, opens in new window.  and about the latest energy projects we have financed hereExternal link, opens in new window. .

Iberdrola reaffirms its global leadership in green finance

Iberdrola continues to advance in its sustainability strategy, based on the electrification of the economy and oriented towards the fight against climate change and the creation of wealth and employment in the communities where it operates.

With this financing, the utility continues to consolidate its leadership in sustainable financing. At the end of September, Iberdrola's net debt amounted to €44.293 bn, and the world's current green bond operation with more than €16 bn; around the same amount in ESG credit lines; commercial paper for €5 bn, and around €3 bn in loans and structured financing. In all cases, of a sustainable nature.

The projects to which the resources obtained from these placements are allocated are aligned with the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, on which Iberdrola focuses its efforts: number 7External link, opens in new window.  - Affordable and Clean Energy - and number 13External link, opens in new window.  - Climate Action.