BNP Paribas has signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank ( EIB ) that will stimulate up to €8 billion ( US$8.36 billion ) of funding for wind energy projects across the European Union.

The initiative seeks to unlock key investments to support new wind farm projects, supply chain efficiency, and improved grid interconnections, thus accelerating wind energy development and ultimately increasing production.

Under the agreement, the EIB has extended a €500 million counter-guarantee, enabling BNP Paribas to establish a €1 billion portfolio of bank guarantees designed to back new investments in wind farms in the EU. The leverage effect of such a counter-guarantee is expected to spur up to €8 billion of investments in the real economy.

The agreement falls under a €5 billion initiative announced by the EIB in support of the European Wind Power Package presented by the European Commission in October 2023. The initiative aims to accelerate wind energy deployment and strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s wind industry.

The programme aims to support the production of 32 gigawatts of the 117GW of wind capacity needed to enable the EU to meet its goal of generating at least 45% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

The transaction is part of BNP Paribas’s long-standing commitment to supporting energy transition by directing its financing towards low-carbon energy, which will account for at least 90% of the bank’s energy production financing by 2030.

Supporting renewable energy is key to European energy independence, says EIB vice-president Ambroise Fayolle. “Guarantees, like the ones EIB provides through this new financial instrument, contribute to enable the funding of essential projects that drive the green transition, support the decarbonization of the European economy, and strengthen industrial competitiveness," he notes.