EIB finances wind farm in Lower Austria

• The EIB is providing €20.1 million to WEB Windenergie AG.
• The loan will enable four wind turbines to be built in the Lower Austrian municipality of Spannberg.
• A second construction phase includes plans for seven more wind turbines, the financing of which could also be backed by the EIB.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is financing the construction of a new wind farm in Lower Austria with an initial loan of €20.1 million to WEB Windenergie AG (W.E.B). The wind farm in the municipality of Spannberg is the fourth of its kind and will include a total of 11 wind turbines. An initial phase will see the construction of four turbines, expected to be followed by seven more in 2027/28. The wind farm will have a total capacity of around 62 MW, covering the average energy use of approximately 40 000 households.

Austrian renewable energy company W.E.B is one of the largest wind farm developers in the country, and has operations in seven international markets. It also operates solar and hydroelectric power plants. A special purpose vehicle has been set up for the Spannberg wind farm, which will use turbines from European manufacturer Vestas. The EIB will cover half of the project cost for the initial construction phase, with total project costs for the wind farm with 11 wind turbines expected to be around €115 million.

“We have been working with Austrian wind farm developers for over ten years,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. “We have a great collaboration, and our financing not only supports Europe’s independence from fossil fuels, but also Austria’s ambitious goal of covering its entire electricity needs with renewable energy by 2030.”

In 2021, the Austrian parliament adopted the Renewable Energy Expansion Law, which aims to ensure that national electricity needs will be fully covered by renewable energy by 2030 and that the country is climate neutral by 2040. In 2022, Lower Austria also approved an energy transition acceleration platform to simplify authorisation procedures for renewable energies.

“Wind energy is among the most efficient forms of electricity generation, and is a key building block of energy independence,” said W.E.B Chief Financial Officer Michael Trcka. “Investing in new wind farms will therefore make a major economic and environmental contribution to Europe. We are pleased to be expanding wind energy in Spannberg with the EIB, one of the world’s largest financiers of climate action.”

Construction of the wind farm began in May, with the first four wind turbines expected to be connected to the grid within a year. Each of the nearly 150 metre-high (without blades) wind turbines will then supply electricity for about 3 800 households. The wind farm supports the European Union's REPowerEU plan, which aims to reduce European dependence on fossil fuels as quickly as possible. The EIB Group will provide an additional €45 billion for REPowerEU by 2027, having provided financing of €21 billion to the plan by the end of 2023.

Background information

EIB Group

The EIB Group is the long-term lending institution of the European Union. It finances sound investments that contribute to EU policy objectives and works closely with other EU institutions and bodies to advance shared priorities such as equitable growth and a just transition towards climate neutrality. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed a total of €88 billion in new financing in 2023, of which €1.26 billion in Austria.

All new projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Agreement. Investments in fossil fuels that do not reduce CO₂ emissions are not eligible for financial support. The EIB Group is on track to deliver on its commitment to support €1 trillion in climate action and environmental sustainability investment in the decade to 2030, as pledged in its Climate Bank Roadmap. Over half of the EIB Group’s annual financing signed supports projects that directly contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and to a healthier environment. About half of EIB funding in the European Union goes to cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower. In this way, the Bank promotes equitable growth to bring living standards up to par.

WEB Windenergie AG (WEB)

WEB Windenergie AG designs and operates renewable energy power plants, with a special focus on wind and solar power. Its 330 power plants have a total output of around 735 MW (as of 31 July 2024). In addition to Austria, it operates in Germany, France, Italy, Czechia, Slovakia, Canada and the United States. WEB Windenergie AG is a company with broad-based equity ownership that promotes the energy transition and civic engagement. It currently has over 6 700 shareholders.