Energy company Galp has signed three financing agreements worth US$473 million (406.5 million euros) with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the development of solar power facilities in Spain and Portugal. Galp also used the loan to deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Iberia. EIB will provide Galp with a loan of US$378 million (325 million euros) for the development of a solar photovoltaic (PV) facility with a capacity of 2GWp in Spain.

Portugal Solar Project

The capacity of the photovoltaic power plant will be between 24MWp and 449MWp and will be developed in the cohesive regions of Spain, including Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla La Mancha and Extremadura. The construction of utility-scale solar power plants is expected to begin within the next three years, and will also include auxiliary infrastructure interconnected with the grid. Once put into operation, these power plants will be able to meet the electricity needs of 866,400 households each year.

In addition, the agreement also includes an additional US$378 million (325 million euros) in the form of project financing at a later stage, which will bring EIB's overall financing for the project to US$757 million (650 million euros). Galp will use EIB's second 40 million euro loan to fund its 144MWp solar photovoltaic power plant in the Algarve region of Portugal. The product portfolio includes Viçoso (48MWp), Pereiro (18.7MWp), São Marcos (48.9MWp) and Albercas (28.4MWp), and will be developed at four locations in Alcoutim. According to the third agreement, EIB has agreed to provide a loan of 48.3 million US dollars (41.5 million euros) to support Galp's electric vehicle project, which will install electric vehicle charging stations in Spain and Portugal. Keywords: engineering news, engineering construction

These three projects will jointly support climate action and social cohesion, and may generate 3.6 TWh of renewable energy per year. Ricardo Mourinho Félix, vice chairman of the European Investment Bank, said: "We are very happy to support Galp's decarbonization path and join hands to promote climate action and renewable energy generation in Spain and Portugal." These three projects will help achieve the goals set in the EU’s Green Agreement and will support countries’ decarbonization goals, while promoting economic growth, job creation and social cohesion. "Prior to this development, Galp announced plans to enter the Brazilian renewable energy sector by acquiring 594MWp of solar capacity. The transaction includes two solar facilities located in Bahia (282MWp) and Rio Grande do Norte (312MWp), currently in In the development stage, it is expected to be online before 2025. Editor/Xing Wentao