The European Investment Bank (EIB) is investing Euro 43.5 million to finance the Cabrera solar project in Andalusia, an autonomous community of Spain. This investment, backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), will contribute to Spain’s green recovery. The Cabrera solar project includes the construction and operation of four 50MWp photovoltaic solar plants in Alcalá de Guadaira, Seville. The four plants will provide enough clean energy to supply nearly 145,000 households per year. The construction of the project is in line with the Spanish government’s objective of generating 20 per cent of the energy needs from renewable sources by the end of 2020. Moreover, the Cabrera solar project will contribute to meeting the European Commission’s target of ensuring that at least 32 per cent of Europe’s final energy consumption comes from renewables by 2030.
The project is sponsored by Encavis AG and developed by Solarcentury. The project secured senior debt facilities of over Euro 96 million from the EIB, Deutsche Bank and Rabobank, and reached financial closure in June 2020.
The Cabrera solar project is a greenfield renewable energy project financed without any form of government or public support. The project developers have signed a power purchase agreement with Amazon. Going forward, the EIB will contribute to the crowding-in of other investors and private lenders, while EFSI will provide the long-term non-recourse debt financing, crucial to ensuring the viability of the project.
Commenting of the development, Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy said, “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.”
