Today at the Midi-Pyrénées Region’s headquarters in Toulouse, the “Renewable Energy” product – consisting of an overall financial package of EUR 700 million – was launched by the Region’s President, Martin Malvy, EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive, the CEO of Crédit Agricole Toulouse 31, Yvon Malard, the Chairman of Caisse d’Epargne Midi-Pyrénées, Pierre Carli, and the CEO of Banque Populaire Occitane, Alain Condaminas.
These loans are principally directed at public and private companies, farms and local authorities and target the following types of scheme:
- The installation in the region of renewable energy generation facilities (photovoltaic, wind, “on-farm” and “centralised” methanisation);
- The energy improvement of public and private buildings in the region with the aim of reducing energy consumption by at least 20%.
This programme of the Midi-Pyrénées Region is being partly financed by the European Investment Bank with a EUR 350 million credit line made available to two partner banks: Crédit Agricole and the BPCE Group (Banque Populaire et Caisse d’Epargne de Midi-Pyrénées). These two banking groups will jointly provide an additional EUR 350 million to co-finance this major regional renewable energy programme. They will manage a total package of EUR 700 million and be responsible for appraising loan applications throughout the region. The Midi-Pyrénées Region has undertaken to guarantee 25% of the total amount of loans granted to very small, small and medium-sized businesses and farms for renewable energy generation projects, making it possible to improve the terms offered.
The “Renewable Energy” product is at present unique in France in terms of the scale of the investment, the range of renewable energies concerned and the variety of projects targeted.
Midi-Pyrénées is the first French Region to have obtained such a package for energy projects from the EIB and the only one to promote – with the help of this partnership and the regional banks – the three types of renewable energy (photovoltaic, wind and biogas) and improved energy performance.
The EIB loan will serve to leverage the partner banks’ lending capacity. It forms part of the EIB’s ongoing priority action in France and throughout the EU in support of sustainable, competitive and secure energy – an objective for which the EIB lent EUR 1.3 billion in France in 2009 alone.
Note for editors :
EIB
The European Investment Bank is the EU’s long-term financing institution. By mobilising its expertise and resources in support of quality projects that contribute to achieving the EU’s objectives, the EIB is building the future of Europe and its partners. Founded in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Communities, the EIB operates as a bank, raising the bulk of its funds on the capital markets on advantageous terms that it then passes on to its borrowers. Its shareholders are the EU Member States. In 2009, the EIB lent EUR 79 billion in support of Europe’s economy.
EIB receives multiple awards for its renewable energy lending
The EIB’s growing role in renewable energy lending is now fully recognised. In 2009, the Bank received a number of awards: Euromoney and Ernst &Young gave it the prize for “Renewable Lender of the Year” and the Environmental Finance Review named it “Best Finance House” for renewables.
In 2009, the EIB lent EUR 1.3 billion to promote sustainable, competitive and secure energy in France. In the European Union as a whole, since 2005 the proportion of its renewable energy loans has grown from 43% to 70% of its overall lending for power generation projects.