MEXICO FIRST RENEWABLE ENERGY AUCTIONS

Through a project finance scheme, the EIB loan will partly finance three solar photovoltaic plants in Mexico as part of the country's clean energy transition plan.

This is an important project for the EIB outside the EU, as it supports climate-related investments in developing countries. At post-approval stage, the plants resulted in having a combined capacity of 1.088 MWp, which at appraisal stage was 991 MW.

If the solar photovoltaic plants were located within the EU they would fall under Annex II of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU), requiring the competent authorities to determine whether an is required. Following Mexican national legislation full EIA and Social Impact assessments are mandatory for such projects. Due to the specificities of the land tenancy in Mexico, the social impacts will be carefully assessed at appraisal. Compliance with the EIB's environmental and social standards and the principles of relevant EU Directives, will be verified at appraisal.

The EIB will require the promoter to ensure that implementation of the project will be done in accordance with EIB's Guide to Procurement.