The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €670m financing to support renewables in Europe, Africa and Asia. Projects include upgrading the electricity transmission grid of Finland, promoting the use of residential and commercial solar systems in Africa and Asia, developing large-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency across Africa and supporting the construction of 500 roof-top solar systems in schools managed by the Palestinian Authority. In order to promote sustainable transport, the EIB will inject €1bn in the rail, urban and electric transport sectors, including financing the deployment of 15,000 new electric and hybrid vehicles.
EIB has recently also agreed to lend €255m to the Greek state-run power utility Public Power Corporation (PPC) to improve the electricity distribution infrastructure across the country. The EIB financing supports a €510m national investment programme implemented by the Hellenic Electricity Network Operator (HEDNO), a 100% owned subsidiary of PPC, within the period of July 2017-2020. In June 2018, EIB agreed to finance half of the €170m electricity network investment programme carried out by HEDNO. EIB also granted in January 2019 a green loan to the Spanish energy group Endesa, helping it to build 15 wind park projects with a capacity of 446 MW and three solar photovoltaic (PV) plants with a capacity of 339 MW across the country.