ENEL AGREES ON 600 MILLION EURO FACILITY WITH THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK AND SACE FOR SUSTAINABILITY-LINKED FINANCING IN LATIN AMERICA

Enel, the European Investment Bank (EIB) via its development branch EIB Global, and SACE joined forces to support the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru through sustainability-linked financing instruments to mitigate the effects caused by climate change. To this end, the EIB has provided Enel with a sustainability-linked financing framework which foresees a multi-country, multi-business and multi-currency facility of up to 600 million euros (equal to over 650 million US dollars), backed by a guarantee from SACE.

This agreement represents EIB-SACE’s first sustainability-linked operation and the bank’s largest financing to a private sector entity outside Europe. Projects financed with this facility are expected to generate around 2,307 GWh of clean energy each year, equivalent to the annual consumption of 1.32 million households.

As part of the agreement, Enel Green Power Perú S.A.C., a subsidiary of Enel Group, was granted ì130 million US dollars, earmarked to implement wind and solar photovoltaic projects for nearly 300 MW in Peru. The remainder of the 600 million euro facility will support the growth of the Enel Group’s sustainable investments in Brazil and Colombia through renewable energy generation and power distribution projects.

"This new agreement with Enel and SACE is a perfect illustration of how the EIB intends to work through EIB Global, where partnerships are central. It also shows our increased commitment to promoting sustainable and green investments in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. At the EIB, we firmly believe that only by boosting the energy transition we can achieve the global climate goals while fueling economic growth and creating new employment opportunities,” said Ricardo Mourinho Félix, European Investment Bank Vice President.

“Together with EIB and SACE, we are leading the transformation of international private and public finance towards a sustainability-linked approach,” said Enel CFO Alberto De Paoli. “This evolution of sustainable finance will support long-term growth and a just transition, not only in Europe but also across Latin America, through a synergy between private and public players that aims to push sustainable development and accelerate the achievement of global sustainability goals, in line with the Paris Agreement and the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda.”

“We are proud to be part of this major project related to sustainable investments in Latin America with the collaboration of and in synergy with the European Investment Bank and Enel,” declared Dario Liguti, Chief Underwriting Officer of SACE. “Thanks to the experience and know-how of over 40 years, SACE contributes to the success of “Made in Italy” in complex contexts, in which the role of risk mitigator and business facilitator is crucial. We truly believe that this operation will lead the way in increasing our collaboration with EIB, and in particular on sustainable finance.” 

The 600 million euro facility is linked to Enel’s ability to achieve its target for direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1), measured in grams of CO₂eq/kWh, equal to or below 148 gCO₂eq/kWh by 2023, thus contributing to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 (Climate Action). Depending on the level of achievement of this target, the loan provides for a step-up/step-down mechanism that will trigger a margin adjustment.

The transaction is in line with Enel’s Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework, updated in January 2022, which fully integrates sustainability into the Group’s global financing program, as well as with the EIB Climate Bank Roadmap. Moreover, the framework is in line with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA)’s “Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles” and with the Loan Market Association (LMA)’s “Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles”, as verified by the second-party provider V.E.