German investment firm Aquila Capital has raised €1bn to support the development and construction of a 2.6GW renewable energy pipeline in Spain and Portugal over the next three years. Primarily solar PV and wind assets, the pipeline contains more than 50 projects from Aquila Clean Energy EMEA, Aquila Capital's clean energy development platform in Europe.

The total project size exceeds 2 billion euros, with the remaining more than 1 billion euros from funds managed by AquilaCapital and corporate capital. The European Investment Bank said the short-term construction financing was groundbreaking because the development bank had primarily acted as a long-term lender in the infrastructure sector in the past.

EIB vice-president Ricardo Mourinho Felix said the building facility was the first of its kind for the EIB and a landmark deal. The project was made possible because of the EU budget guarantee under the Invest EU scheme, which allows the EIB to increase its ability to take risks, and in this case, since the transaction is non-recourse, it can be traded without recourse. Under the financing structure of the right to undertake e-commerce risks. Involves any price hedging mechanisms, such as power purchase agreements.

Susanne Wermter, CEO of Aquila Clean Energy EMEA, said the transaction is the largest funding round in Aquila Capital’s history. It demonstrates the credibility and attractiveness of our clean energy assets aimed at positively shaping Europe's energy transition. As a developer and operator of solar, wind, hydro and battery storage assets, Aquila Clean Energy currently manages a portfolio of more than 8.2GW.

Earlier in 2022, Aquila Capital acquired 100MW of solar in Spain from Mytilineos and a 51% stake in a portfolio of 15 PV plants in Italy from Powertis. Keywords: engineering news, overseas news

The investment firm has since formed a joint venture with renewable energy developer Top Infra to develop solar photovoltaic, wind and battery energy storage system projects in South Korea. For the EIB, the deal follows an announcement earlier in 2022 that it would provide loans to support the addition of 430 megawatts of solar PV and wind in Spain and Portugal. The bank recently signed solar financing agreements with independent power producer Opdenergy and utility Iberdrola.Editor/XingWentao