European and Southern African Development Banks to lend an extra $220 million to clean energy projects
The European Investment Bank and Development Bank of Southern Africa announced on Wednesday that, together, they will lend an additional 200 millions euros ($220.16million) to renewable energy project in South Africa. The EIB and DBSA have pledged 400 million euros at the COP27 Climate Summit in 2022 for independent power projects to be supported in Africa's most developed economy. South Africa's energy minister pledged in July to speed up the transition to renewable energy, from coal.
Total Criticizes EIB's Decision Not to Finance Gas
Total criticized on Thursday the European Investment Bank's decision to stop financing all fossil fuel projects including gas, saying companies that might switch to gas-fired power plants from heavy-polluting coal could now reconsider."I think it is a poor decision by the European Investment Bank (EIB) not to finance any new gas project.
First WindFloat Atlantic Unit Sets Sail
The first of the three floating platforms for the 25-MW WindFloat Atlantic project has sailed from Spain carrying a fully installed turbine to a location 20 kilometers (12.43 miles) off the coast of Viana do Castelo, Portugal.Once at the final location, the three floating structures – stretching 30 meters in height and with a distance between each one of their columns of 50 meters – will be installed…
EU Threatens Turkey with Sanctions over Cyprus Drilling
The European Union is set to curb contacts and funding for Ankara in retaliation for what it calls Turkey's "illegal" drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus and stands ready to ramp up sanctions further, a draft statement seen by Reuters shows.In trying to take Ankara to task over what the EU sees as Turkish interference with Cyprus' exclusive economic zone, the bloc is walking a thin line, careful not…
Spliethoff Gets Green Loan From ING, EIB
Dutch banking group ING and the European Investment Bank said they will provide a EUR 110 million ($123 million) loan to Dutch ship management firm Spliethoff’s Bevrachtingskantoor B.V. for retrofitting vessels with exhaust gas cleaning systems.According to a European Commission press release, Spliethoff will use the loan to retrofit 42 of its vessels with exhaust gas cleaning systems and ballast water…
Cyprus Seeks to Construct first LNG Import Terminal by 2020
Cyprus has invited bids for the development of the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, which it wants to be ready by 2020, a notice posted on a government procurement site said this week.Cyprus depends almost entirely on imported oil products for its energy consumption and needs to switch to cleaner gas from heavy fuel oil for its electricity generation by 2020 to stay in line…
Belgium's Northwester 2 Wind Project Gets $242 mln EIB Loan
Belgium's 219 megawatt (MW) Northwester 2 offshore wind farm project secured a 210 million euro ($242 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the bank said on Friday.EIB said the project, estimated to cost around 642 million euros, was among four Belgian offshore wind projects it would support with the European Fund for Strategic Investments.It said another 100 million euros for the project would be guaranteed by Denmark's Export Credit Agency EKF.Construction is expected to start
EIB Approves $1.85 Bln Loan to TAP Gas Pipline
The European Investment Bank on Tuesday approved a 1.5 billion euro ($1.85bln) loan for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to bring new gas supplies to Europe and reduce dependence on Russia, a spokesman for the EIB told Reuters. TAP, the end piece of the $40 billion Southern Gas Corridor, is slated to bring up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas from the giant Azeri Shah Deniz II field to Italy by 2020, crossing Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea.
$500 Mln Loan Approved for TANAP Gas Pipeline Project
The board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a $500 million loan for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the largest part of a $40 billion project to bring new gas supplies to Europe. The so-called Southern Gas Corridor is expected to bring around 16 billion cubic metres per year to Europe by 2020 from the Shah Deniz 2 field in Azerbaijan via TANAP through Turkey…
Gazprom eyes Rival TAP Pipeline
TAP aims to reduce EU dependence on Russian gas, but Gazprom could gain access via open auction. Gazprom's bid to tap into a pipeline meant to wean Europe off Russian gas threatens to undermine a pillar of European energy policy and slow plans to develop rival deposits in the east Mediterranean. As the European Union struggles against the "iron embrace" of Russian pipelines, it has made opening a new Southern Gas Corridor to carry gas from Azerbaijan by 2020 a priority.
Sheltered from Biggest Risks, Green Fuel to Ride Out Oil Crash
Green power is cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels and will buck the trend of falling investment in oil and gas as it can offer long-term returns sheltered from political risk, investors and industry analysts say. Oil prices have dropped by around 75 percent since mid-2014, leading the International Energy Agency (IEA) to predict a second successive year of falling hydrocarbon investment, marking the most sustained decline since the 1980s.
EIB, Greece Sign Financing Deal for Energy Projects
The European Investment Bank (EIB), EU's lending institution, and Greece signed a 285 million euro ($312.4 million) deal on Tuesday, extending financing for energy projects in the country. Last year, the EIB agreed to provide Greece total loans of 670 million euros for extending and upgrading its power grid and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on an island close to the Greek capital. On Tuesday…
New Climate-financing Pledges at IMF talks closer to $100 bln/yr
The world's rich countries most likely will be able to reach the goal of providing $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poor countries combat and adapt to climate change, as the result of increased pledges made in Lima, key ministers said on Friday. The World Bank and other international banks made billions of dollars of new pledges on Friday, on top of promises that have been made by individual countries.
Israel signs deal for $1.1 billion thermo-solar power plant
Israel signed a deal to build a 4 billion shekel ($1.05 billion) thermo-solar power plant in the country's south, aimed at boosting electricity production from renewable energy sources, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday. The 121 megawatt plant, which will also be able to store electricity, will be built by a consortium of Israel's Shikun & Binui and Spain's Abengoa in Ashalim in Israel's southern Negev desert near another solar plant.
European States Agree to Boost Gas Links, Reduce Reliance on Russia
Fifteen countries from central, eastern and southeast Europe signed a deal on Friday to speed up the building of gas links, improve security of supply, reduce their reliance on Russia and develop a fully integrated energy market. "The improvement of infrastructure through realistic and feasible projects is crucial to diversify energy resources and strengthen the region's resilience to supply shocks," European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said in a statement.
EIB in Talks to Lend $500 mln to PGE
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is in advanced talks to lend more than 2 billion zlotys ($526 million) to Poland's biggest power producer PGE to help finance its investments, the head of the EIB's Warsaw office told Reuters. PGE plans to spend around 50 billion zlotys by 2020 on new capacity and upgrading existing power generation capabilities. The EIB, which is owned by the European Union and represents the interests of member states including Poland…
France, Spain to Ease Pyrenees Power Bottleneck
French and Spanish power grid operators have completed a long-awaited power line across the Pyrenees that will allow export of excess Spanish renewable energy and ease one of the worst network bottlenecks in Europe. RTE, a unit of French utility EDF, and Spain's Red Electrica are due next week to inaugurate the 1,400-megawatt (MW) cable that will double French-Spanish interconnection capacity to 2,800 MW, equivalent to the output of three nuclear plants.
Some Coal Plant Exports Should get Financial Aid
European makers of equipment for coal-fired power plants should receive financial help to export it, an EU discussion paper seen by Reuters says, in a clash with the bloc's declared aim to lead the global fight against climate change. Coal is the most polluting fossil fuel, emitting around twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas when used to generate power. As a result, the European Union is phasing…
Ukraine Wins Loans for Gas Link Repairs
Trade financing could pay for gas imports; any loans have to be coupled with reform pledges. Kiev secured 300 million euros ($374 million) in development loans to repair the leaking pipeline that is the main gas route from Russia to the EU, under a deal on Monday that the lenders said was a step towards making Ukraine a gas-trading hub. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) officials…
EU Loaning UK Power Grid $2.4 billion
UK power networks, infrastructure need massive investment; loan for improving grid, connecting new power generation. The European Union's bank will loan Britain's National Grid, 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion), its biggest ever single loan, the bank said on Friday. The European Investment Bank (EIB) loan will go towards upgrading Britain's ageing power grid, improving networks and connecting new power generation.
