Luxembourg, 02/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - During its Forum 2007, held in Ljubljana on 27-28 September, the European Investment Bank (EIB) stepped up its support for clean energies by launching an innovative Carbon Fund and investing nearly €450 million in improvements to energy efficiency, renewable energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. The EIB also announced that a new lending policy would be adopted in the field of transport. All these initiatives launched in the Slovenian capital are part of the action plan for energy policy as defined by the European Council in March this year.
Transport. In response to the request put forward by the EU transport ministers in June 2007 to develop a European transport strategy, the EIB has decided to improve its lending policy in this sector. It will set guiding principles and selection criteria with regard to project eligibility, in particular taking into account climate change concerns. The EIB will pursue an approach that strives for the most efficient, economic and sustainable way of meeting transport demand. It will continue to uphold its strong commitment to the funding of Trans-European Networks (TENs). Priority will continue to be given to railways, inland waterways and maritime projects, in particular the Motorways of the Sea, as well as to urban transport and hubs between modes of transport. All road projects will have to demonstrate appropriate economic returns. Further emphasis will be placed on the RDI activities (research, technological development, demonstration and innovation activities) of vehicle manufacturers, focusing on energy efficiency, emissions reduction and safety enhancement. EIB financing for car production will, however, be selective and limited to projects in convergence regions which are in line with EU environmental and energy efficiency policies. Airport projects will be supported when they demonstrate high economic value, also taking into account the possible future reduction of demand due to emission charges on air travel. Air traffic management merits particular attention. The Bank will only finance aircraft purchases in exceptional circumstances when very strong value added can be demonstrated.
Carbon Fund. The EIB's €100 million Post-2012 Carbon Fund is the direct result of on-going cooperation in the field of climate change between the EIB and three leading European national financing institutions: Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), KfW Bankgruppe, and the Nordic Investemnt Bank (NIB). The fund is designed to underpin the market value of carbon emission reduction units produced after the expiry of the current Kyoto Protocol in 2012. The Bank and its partners have designed the fund to encourage and facilitate investment in projects which will give rise to carbon credits in a longer term time perspective than is currently generally the case. Through the mechanism of the fund, “patient and catalytic public sector capital” will serve to enhance the role of carbon credits as a project finance instrument. The fund will support the development of environmentally beneficial projects including renewable energy, energy efficiency, forestry and methane capture, via the acquisition of carbon credits generated by the mitigation, prevention, reduction and/or sequestration of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in the period 2013-22 (i.e. after the second phase of the Emission Trading Scheme and the Kyoto Protocol commitment period and for a sufficiently long period to have a material impact on the financial viability of underlying projects). The day-to-day activities of the Post 2012 Carbon Fund will be undertaken, within the terms of detailed operating and policy guidelines, by an independent fund management team. With its focus exclusively on post-Kyoto credits, the Post-2012 Carbon Fund will be materially different from not only the other carbon finance activities of the EIB, but also those more generally in the market.
Five new loans to support energy supply and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. The EIB Forum 2007 also serves as a framework for signing five new loans aimed at increasing energy supply and promoting renewable energies and energy efficiency in Europe. These are:
- The EIB will lend €350 million to modernise electricity generation in Slovenia. The project, for a new 600 MW steam turbine power plant in Šoštanj, will use the latest technology to cut carbon emissions from lignite-fired generation while exploiting this major local fuel resource to help meet increased energy demand and contribute to a secure electricity supply.
- The EIB will invest €25 million in the DIF (Development Innovation Fund) Renewable Energy Fund, focused on equity financing for renewable energy in North-West Europe - mainly the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark and the UK. Wind projects will be the main focus, with other renewable energy projects undertaken on a case-by-case basis.
- The EIB will also invest €25 million in the Enercap Power Fund, financing projects using renewable energy sources in Central and South-Eastern Europe with a focus on Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Croatia. The Fund, to be signed subject to final legal documentation, will support projects based on the use of mature technologies in the wind sector, as well as in biofuels and other renewable energies.
- The Bank will also lend €30 million in the form of a framework loan to Slovenia's Environmental Development Fund, to fund projects with a particular focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as water and wastewater.
- An additional €13 million will be lent to support the completion of Slovenia's new Avce hydropower pumped-storage plant. The plan will help cut greenhouse gas emissions by using off-peak electricity to pump water at night, and reversing the flow to generate electricity at peak hours.
Impressive start for Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF) contributing €359 million to research and innovation, with strong focus on renewable energy technologies. The EIB Forum 2007 also provided an opportunity for the European Commission and the EIB to highlight the successful start of the RSFF, the last in a series of joint initiatives by the two European institutions (see EUROPE 9439). This innovative financing solution aims to provide strong additional support to research, development and innovation projects in Europe. The first RSFF financing operations focus on renewable energy technologies.
In addition to renewable energy technologies, RSFF will benefit biotechnology, engineering, manufacturing and automotive, information and communication technology projects, as well as European research infrastructures.
The first financing operations by the EIB under RSFF concern renewable energy efficiency, automotive, engineering and biotechnology projects. In addition, significant demand is emerging in priority sectors on the Lisbon agenda and the EU's 7th Framework Programme as well as in European Technology Platforms (ETPs) and Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs). The principal beneficiaries of RSFF loans will be midcap companies and SMEs, as well as large companies and public/private entities.
The first research and innovation projects selected for support under RSFF include: - The Andasol Solar Thermal Power (Spain), which concerns two new concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) generation plants with a capacity of 50 MWe each, to be developed in a valley north of the Sierra Nevada. - The Solucar Solar Thermal Power (Spain), another project in the area of solar thermal power (CSP) generating plants, to be implemented west of Seville, but using a technology different to that of the Andasol project. - Renewables and Energy Technologies RDI (Spain) for the development of advanced technology in the field of renewable energy, in particular the production and reforming of bio-ethanol. - Automotive Energy Efficiency, AVL (Austria), for the development of clean and efficient automotive powertrains, as well as for research on hydrogen fuel cell technology, nanocomposites and engine technologies to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the impact on climate change. - Automotive Exhaust and Heat System RDI, Eberspächer (Germany) to develop innovative exhaust technology and heating systems for cars and trucks, including research in thermo and flow-dynamics, exhaust gas treatment and noise reduction. - Automotive Research and Innovation Facility for Midcaps and SMES (Germany) involving an innovative “Technology Leasing” facility, allowing automotive suppliers to finance their RDI activities through the sale and lease-back of their intellectual property rights to Deutsche Leasing, a leading leasing institute in Germany. - Biotechnology - Zeltia Pharmaceutical RDI (Spain), to finance research activities aimed at strengthening the company's position in its priority fields of activity, primarily oncology and rare diseases, through the commercialisation.
For further information on RSFF, see: http: //http://www.eib.org/products/loans/special/rsff/index. (ol)