The European Investment Bank (EIB) is investing €43.5 million to fund the largest solar project in Andalusia and one of the most powerful in Spain.
Despite the lockdown related to COVID-19, more than 85 percent of the construction plan was completed successfully by May 2020.
This investment, supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, will contribute to Spain’s green recovery and will create approximately 350 jobs in the Andalusian transition region during the implementation phase.
The Cabrera Solar project includes the construction and operation of four 50 MWp solar photovoltaic plants in Alcalá de Guadaira, Seville.
The four plants will have ample renewable energy to supply nearly 145.000 households annually and will help minimize CO2 emissions by 300 kilotons (kt) per year. This will have a huge impact on the Spanish renewable energy industry, helping the country achieve the government’s target of producing 20 percent of all the country’s energy needs from renewable sources by the end of this year.
“As the EU climate bank, we are committed to investing in green recovery in Europe, building sustainable infrastructure while spurring the creation of green jobs. Spain is a market with huge potential for renewable energy and the EU bank is proud to support the investments needed to meet the country’s renewable energy targets. Despite the economic challenges caused by COVID-19, we should not forget that climate change still represents one of the biggest threats to our future.“
Emma Navarro, VP EIB.
“With the EU’s financial support, almost 145.000 Spanish households stand to benefit from clean energy, drastically reducing the CO2 emissions of the Andalusia region. The project will also provide the construction and engineering sector with 350 jobs in the short term. With every investment of this kind, we take another step closer to our goal of making the European Union climate neutral by 2050.“
Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy.
The project, which is sponsored by Encavis AG and developed by Solarcentury, secured senior debt facilities from the EIB, Deutsche Bank and Rabobank for an aggregate amount of €96 million, and reached financial close in June 2020.
With regard to the construction and operation of the Talayuela solar plant, which is also financed by the EU bank, funded by Encavis and Solarcentury and built by Solarcentury, the Cabrera Solar project is also a greenfield renewable energy project financed without any form of government or public funding and relies entirely on electricity sales income.
The project entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Amazon.com, which hedges the off-take price for a significant volume of the energy production.
