EIB backs Central America’s renewables with USD 230m loan

Aug 23, 2013 - The European Investment Bank (EIB) said Thursday it would extend USD 230 million (EUR 172m) in funds to back the development of renewable energy projects in Central America.

More specifically, the financing targets hydropower, wind, geothermal and solar power systems. The money is coming under a joint initiative with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, facilitating over USD 500 million of project investment in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama, the EIB said.

The programme will allow Central American countries to lower their dependence on fossil fuels, cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and will also back investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects from the public and private sectors.

The EIB and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration teamed up in 2011 on a similar financing programme to back hydropower projects in Costa Rica.

The EIB has so far extended over EUR 5.7 billion (USD 7.6m) for long-term investment projects in Latin America, some EUR 1.9 billion of which went to the energy segment, it noted.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.749)

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