ESG
Spanish Lender Launches Renewable Energy Investment Platform
The latest developments in the ESG space.
Santander has
launched a new renewable energy investment platform in Spain
dedicated to renewable energy projects under development and
construction.
The Santander Green Investment is part of the initiative led by
the bank’s corporate and investment banking division which has
already seen Santander invest in nine solar and wind projects in
the country, with a combined capacity of 500MW.
The new platform will help expedite renewable energy project
development and investment, the bank said. It mobilised
€65.7 billion ($72.3 billion) towards this goal between 2019 and
2021.
At 2021 year-end, Santander was the highest-ranked bank in
renewable energy project finance. To date, it has also
issued three green bonds worth €3 billion.
The Santander Green Investment platform has a self-governance
model, with a special committee approving investments, giving the
platform flexibility over decision-making. Its investment
framework can grant green projects the bank guarantees which they
require and partner with developers with proven experience in
renewable energy ventures.
“The launch of Santander Green Investment is a demonstration of
our business prowess and industry knowledge. The initiative will
help consolidate Banco Santander’s leadership in renewable energy
financing and is further evidence of our commitment to the
transition to a low-carbon economy,” Ignacio Dominguez-Adame,
head of Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB) for
Continental Europe, said.
The banking giant also announced that it is aiming to reach net
zero emissions across the group by 2050 in support of Paris
Agreement objectives. To achieve this target and aid the
transition to a low-carbon economy, it will align its power
generation portfolio with the Paris Agreement by 2030 and stop
providing financial services to electricity suppliers if over 10
per cent of their revenue depends on thermal coal.
Santander will also eliminate its worldwide exposure to coal
mining by 2030, the lender said in a statement.
