BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 13. BNP Paribas has signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) that will stimulate up to 8 billion euros of funding for wind energy projects across the European Union, Trend reports.
This initiative will unlock key investments to support new wind farm projects, supply chain efficiency, and improved grid interconnections, therefore accelerating wind energy development and ultimately increasing production.
Under the agreement, the EIB has extended a 500 million euro counter-guarantee, enabling BNP Paribas, to establish a 1 billion euro portfolio of bank guarantees designed to back new investments in wind farms in the EU. The leverage effect of such a counter-guarantee is expected to spur up to 8 billion euros of investments in the real economy.
The agreement falls under a 5 billion euro initiative announced by the EIB in support of the European Wind Power Package presented by the European Commission in October 2023. The initiative aims at accelerating wind energy deployment and strengthening the competitiveness of Europe’s wind industry.
The program aims to support the production of 32 GW of the 117 GW of wind capacity needed to enable the European Union to meet its goal of generating at least 45% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. This transaction is part of BNP Paribas’ long-standing commitment to supporting the energy transition by directing its financing towards low-carbon energy, which will account for at least 90% of the bank’s energy production financing by 2030.