The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €575 million (~$636.7 million) loan to support global energy company Repsol‘s renewable projects in Spain.

The approved loan’s first tranche of €400 million (~$442.9 million) aligns with Repsol’s goal of achieving zero net emissions by 2050.

The projects are expected to bolster the REPowerEU objective of reducing the European Union’s dependency on fossil fuel imports and increasing energy security.

The funds will support the rollout of wind and solar photovoltaic plants, resulting in a total capacity of 1.1 GW.

These renewable energy facilities are expected to be operational before the end of 2025, generating electricity equivalent to the annual average consumption of around 645,000 Spanish households.

By reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by over 800,000 tons of CO2 annually, renewable energy facilities will contribute significantly to Spain’s efforts in combating climate change.

Repsol has set ambitious targets of reaching 20 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 and achieving zero net emissions by 2050.

The financial support from the EIB will enable the company to advance its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, aiming to reach 6 GW of installed renewables capacity by 2025.

EIB also supported Repsol’s decarbonization efforts in December last year with a €120 million (~$132.9 million) loan to construct and operate the first advanced biofuels production plant in Spain.

In 2022, the EIB committed over €17 billion (~$18.8 billion) to finance various sustainable energy and natural resources projects across the continent.

Spain received a record €3.1 billion (~$3.4 billion) in financing commitments for sustainable energy, establishing itself as the second-largest beneficiary within the European Union.

Recently, EIB and Spain-based independent power producer Iberdrola signed a loan agreement worth €1 billion (~$1.07 billion) to build 22 renewable energy projects with an installed capacity of 2.2 GW.

Earlier this month, EIB Group approved raising the funding volume for clean energy projects developed under the REPowerEU and Green Deal Industrial Plan by 50% to €45 billion (~$50.28 billion).