EIB loans $300m to Enel Colombia for power grid development

The European Investment Bank (EIB), in partnership with Enel and SACE, the Italian Export Credit Agency, has provided Enel Group subsidiary Enel Colombia with a loan of $300 million to develop the country’s power grids and renewable energy generation.

Specifically, the facility will finance the improvement and expansion of the Enel Colombia distribution business, which serves more than 3.7 million customers in Bogota, boosting resilience and enabling new connections and e-mobility, in line with the Bogotá Region 2030 project.

It will also finance the solar PV plants Guayepo I and II, totalling approximately 486MW of capacity.

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Commenting in a release was EIB vice-president Ioannis Tsakiris: “This project, in line with the Global Gateway Investment Agenda, contributes to reducing the infrastructure gap between wealthier and less developed regions of Colombia and increases the participation of renewable energy in the power matrix of the country by incorporating additional solar energy generation capacity.

“I welcome the opportunity to continue the fruitful cooperation with the Enel Group, which has a longstanding and successful relationship with the EIB and is one of its largest borrowers, and SACE, with whom the EIB also has an extensive relationship in supporting projects inside and outside the European Union.”

Added Enel CFO Stefano De Angelis: “The agreement with the EIB and SACE is a virtuous example of synergies between the public and private sector and confirms our sustainability commitment.”

“This partnership adds further value to our business projects through a development strategy focused on renewables and grids, while contributing to accelerate the energy transition as well as the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in line with our Group’s Strategic Plan, the Paris Agreement and the UN 2030 Agenda.”

This agreement is in line with the EU Commission’s Global Gateway Investment Agenda, and it is the first EIB framework loan exclusively dedicated to financing Enel Colombia’s sustainable development.

Said Valerio Perinelli, chief business officer at SACE: “We are pleased to be part of this high-impact transaction, which testifies to our long-lasting partnership with Enel and the EIB and our strategic vision of long-term growth.

“Latin America and Colombia represent a significant opportunity for both the energy transition and the Italian technologies that can support it. Our team in Bogotá, where we have inaugurated our office in recent days, will continue to play a vital role for these projects.”