IFC grants Iberdrola EUR-300m ESG loan for renewables in coal countries

Spanish utility Iberdrola SA (BME:IBE) has signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, to obtain a EUR-300-million (USD 328.4m) loan to develop renewables in emerging and coal-dependent countries.

The loan is conditioned upon the successful achievement of two key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. These objectives are: a reduction in Iberdrola's greenhouse gas emissions across all three scopes by more than 60% by 2030 compared to the 2020 baseline, and more than doubling of the utility’s installed renewable energy capacity by 2030, which exceeded 41,000 MW at the end of the third quarter of 2023.

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Iberdrola will develop the projects in countries heavily reliant on fossil fuels and coal, including Morocco, Poland and Vietnam.

Iberdrola said that EUR 170 million of the total agreed amount has already been committed to finance onshore wind projects in Poland. The company and IFC are exploring options to support the development of projects such as offshore wind and green hydrogen in additional emerging markets.

The latest collaboration between IFC and Iberdrola forms part of the alliance established in May 2023 to promote the energy transition in emerging countries.

“This loan is a significant step in the global IFC-Iberdrola Energy Transition Partnership, which aims to support Iberdrola’s expansion and re-entry into emerging markets in need of decarbonizing their energy matrix,” commented Alfonso Garcia Mora, Vice President for Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean at IFC. “We look forward to partnering with Iberdrola on projects that can accelerate a just and equitable transition to a low-carbon and sustainable energy future in developing and emerging markets.”

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.095)