Spain’s export credit agency Cesce has agreed to cover a €500mn green syndicated loan for Iberdrola, backing its renewable expansion plans globally.

Banco Sabadell, HSBC and state-owned Spanish bank ICO are financing the debt package, while Cesce is supplying an 80% guarantee on behalf of the Spanish state under its green investment policy. HSBC is the coordinating bank.

The 15-year facility will help fund solar photovoltaic, wind and battery projects in the US, Italy and Australia.

“The total renewable capacity financed will reach 897MW and is expected to be operational between 2025 and 2026,” Iberdrola says.

The facility furthers the Spanish energy company’s goal of diversifying its financing pool and brings its overall volume of export credit agency (ECA)-covered loans to a total of €2.5bn, it says.

Last year, Norway’s ECA guaranteed a €500mn loan from Citi for a wind farm off the UK coast.

In April 2022, the firm secured a €1bn facility from Santander backed by EKF, then Denmark’s ECA, and in November of that year closed a €500mn green loan with three lenders, also guaranteed by Cesce.

Cesce’s 2022 deal for Iberdrola was the first signed under the Spanish ECA’s green investment policy, which covers credits granted to Spanish companies or their foreign subsidiaries for climate-friendly projects.

To qualify, projects must comply with the requirements of the EU Taxonomy or the climate change sector understanding (CCSU) contained within the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits.

Cesce has signalled its long-term intention to shift its portfolio away from emissions-intensive industries, signing up to the UN-backed Net Zero Export Credit Alliance (NZECA) as an “affiliate” member last year.

Nevertheless, it stopped short of making the same commitments as ECAs from the UK, Sweden, Denmark and Canada, which all vowed to end new direct support for unabated fossil fuels by 2025.

There is growing pressure from the EU for export credit providers in the 27-member bloc to halt financing and insurance for all fossil fuels, yet oil and gas continue to receive far larger volumes of ECA support than renewables.