A total of £3.8 billion will be free to allocate by the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) before the end of 2016, business secretary Vince Cable says.
Speaking at the first annual review event for the government green capital scheme, Cable said that the GIB will be able to borrow up to £500 million of the £800 million from the National Loans Fund (NFL).
As part of the commitment to lend more, Cable also revealed that the GIB has already allocated £635 million through 11 deals, with a total value of £2.3 billion.
Speaking in London, Cable said, ‘Against a backdrop of tough fiscal decisions being made by government, the £800 million funding for 2015/16 and borrowing from the NFL is a clear signal to the markets that the GIB is central to the government’s plans for green growth and it is there for the long term.’
Back in October 2012, the coalition government’s GIB received the seal of approval from the European Commission.
Speaking then, chancellor George Osborne said that it would leverage an additional £15 billion of private sector injections in green projects over the course of ‘this Parliament’.
More on the Green Investment Bank:
- Budget 2011: Green Investment Bank will have up to £3 billion
- David Cameron’s GIB gets EC approval
- Moulton and Fairman team up on government green fund
Investments made so far include a £57.5 million transaction, which saw the GIB acquire a 24.95 per cent stake in a RWE AG-owned wind farm.
The Rhyl Flats Wind Farm is located approximately five miles off the coast of North Wales. It consists of 25 wind turbines and has a maximum installed capacity of 90MW. According to statistics, the wind farm will provide enough clean, green electricity to satisfy the needs of approximately 61,000 homes every year.
Other deals come in the form of Jon Moulton’s Greensphere Capital, which was charged with leading a new £80 million investment fund aimed at promoting green infrastructure alongside Foresight Group, and its £8 million capital injection into a project in the North East of England which will generate energy from waste.
However, the fund suffered a casualty in February when deputy chairman Adrian Montague announced he was to leave his role in April.
No reason for the departure was made, but Montague, who was also non-executive at private equity firm 3i, said that the ‘time will be right’ for him to step aside.
Commenting on the new £800 million allocation, Shaun Kingsbury, chief executive of the GIB, adds, ‘[The] announcement provides an important extension of our government funding for an additional year.
‘This substantial addition of £800 million will allow us to further our mission of helping the UK transition to a low carbon economy and build and enduring institution.
