The European Investment Bank (EIB), one of the largest multilateral public banks in the world, and Banco Santander (Brazil) have signed an agreement to promote the use of renewable energies in the South American country.
Ricardo Mourinho Félix, Vice President of the EIB, and Carlos Rey de Vicente, Regional Head of South America at Banco Santander, signed a loan of €300 million in Brussels, on July 17, 2023, during the Summit of Heads of State and of EU-CELAC Government and the EU-ALC Business Forum.
The project is part of the European Union’s Global Gateway investment strategy, which supports infrastructure and improves global and regional connectivity in the digital, climate and transport sectors; as well as in health, energy and education.
The loan will support the installation of a series of small-scale self-consumption solar photovoltaic plants in Brazil, mainly on rooftops, with a combined total capacity of around 600 MWp. The plants will be installed in homes and in the premises of small and medium-sized businesses.
This Global Gateway project will contribute to the fight to mitigate the effects of climate change. The project will also help Brazil achieve its goals of increasing the share of renewable energy sources in its annual electricity generation and meet its 10-year national energy expansion plan.
As a low-carbon electricity generation project, it will reduce carbon emissions and air pollution. It will also build generative capacity as part of a self-consumption system that will reduce electricity losses and promote energy efficiency.
The operation reinforces the EIB’s role as a global climate bank and will mean that almost 80% of its total financing in Latin America in 2022 will be linked to climate action and environmental sustainability. In addition, it contributes to Santander’s climate strategy, which has committed to being net zero by 2050.
Santander also strongly supports sustainable initiatives: in 2022 alone, the bank dedicated more than 32 billion reais (€6 billion) to businesses sustainable in Brazil.
“I am pleased to announce this project with Banco Santander in Brazil, which will allow private sector investments in renewable energy, reduce carbon emissions and air pollution, and support renewable generation capacity in Brazil. This operation in the framework of EIB Global, the EIB arm created in 2022 for activities outside the European Union, is based on our global commitment to climate and our support to the fight against climate change in Brazil over the last three decades,” said the Vice President of the EIB, Ricardo Mourinho Félix.
The European Commission’s Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said: “This project will have a significant positive impact for Brazilian families and small businesses. Through the EU-Latin America and the Caribbean Global Investment Agenda, we are committed to working together.”
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