Danish renewables developer European Energy has been granted a €40 million loan facility by the Danish Green Investment Fund to help boost the construction of large scale wind and solar projects.
The cooperation with the Danish Green Investment Fund will support the ambition of European Energy to construct 750 MW new green power capacity from solar and wind by 2021 and an additional 1 GW in 2022.
“We appreciate working together with the Danish Green Investment Fund, as their loan facility enables us at European Energy to accelerate the erection of renewable energy production in order to move faster on the mitigation of CO2-emissions. Most recently, we have seen the green light by the municipality of Aabenraa to build the biggest solar power facility in Northern Europe. This project will entail fixed asset investments totaling more than € 150 million and provide annual CO2-emissions reductions of more than 110.000 tons. The project in Aabenraa is not the only project in our project pipeline of this size and scale, and the loan facility from the Danish Green Investment Fund is most appreciated in our efforts to construct as much additional renewable power production as possible in order to mitigate fossil fuels from our power production as fast as possible.”
Knud Erik Andersen, CEO at European Energy.
While the Danish Green Investment Fund values the environmental performance of projects, all projects must also be commercially viable.
“European Energy’s business model ensures cohesion in the entire value chain of their wind and solar farms, and thereby the Danish society sees considerable amounts of fossil free power production. And the financial accomplishments of European Energy of recent years bear witness to a cost-effective business model. At the Danish Green Investment Fund we see European Energy as one of the leading Danish developers of big scale landbased solar and wind power projects, and we are pleased with our cooperation.”
Michael Zöllner, managing director at the Danish Green Investment Fund.
The Danish Green Investment Fund is one out of four public funds that have been provided additional funding to ensure investment for green businesses and entrepreneurs. Together with Vaekstfonden, the Danish state’s investment fund, the Danish Green Investment Fund has been strengthened by additional €1,5 billion. But the potential is even bigger.
“When the Danish Green Investment Fund offers loans, it often works as levers for private investments. We often enter projects at an early stage and with a long term perspective, and in many cases it encourages banks and pension funds to join in. This way, a loan from our side can attract investments many times the size of the loan.”
Michael Zöllner.
