UC ITALY PAN-EU WIND POWER PACKAGE RS

This unfunded partial delegation linked risk sharing transaction will support Unicredit in providing certain types (see below) of guarantees (Bonds) in relation to the obligations of manufacturing companies (Original Equipment Manufacturers or OEMs) for the supply of wind farm and the related wind value chain components.

The aim is to support the EU's wind energy sector through the supply of wind farm and the related wind value chain components, such as turbines, grid connection's infrastructure, cables, transformer stations, sub-stations and possibly sub-contractors. The Lending Envelope is a dedicated Guarantee Programme allowing banks to provide additional guarantees for supply contracts of wind energy equipment manufacturers in the EU, and is expected to mobilise about EUR 8 billion in investments in wind power-related equipment. The sub-operations will be limited to manufacturing companies with production and/or assembly capacity in the EU for the supply of wind farm and related value chain components, such as grid connectors and transformers, to be used in wind energy projects in the EU.

The operation will contribute to the InvestEU objective of developing the energy sector.

The ambitious policy decarbonisation targets set in 2030 require significant investment in renewable energy production capacity, notably in onshore and offshore wind energy infrastructure in Europe. This in turn requires a scale-up of the supply chain manufacturing industry and the ability to deliver components, services, and materials promptly. It also requires increased access to advance payment and performance guarantee lines for the OEMs, in a context of financial pressure (growing order books and challenges from rising inflation and interest rates) and with commercial banks reaching their exposure concentration limits vis-a-vis OEMs. The current situation in the guarantee market for wind projects is exacerbated by the relatively limited number of EU commercial banks providing such demanded guarantees in Europe.

The operation, by specifically addressing the increasing bottleneck associated with the provision of guarantees to OEMs, will enable the activation of under-utilized already installed strategic Net-Zero technology manufacturing capacity of wind energy OEM suppliers in Europe, which would otherwise go idle and potentially be lost in part. This enabling effect will help support the proper functioning and access to finance of the entire wind-energy supply chain and will, in turn, contribute to deploying additional renewable energy generation capacity that will eventually be installed in Europe.

The operation would not have been carried out (to the same extent) by the EIB without the InvestEU support.

The proposed operation falls within the scope of the EIB's Environmental and Social Standards - "Standard 11 Intermediated Finance". The Borrower / Financial Intermediary has adequate capacity, systems and processes in place for identifying, assessing, managing and monitoring environmental, climate and social (ECS) risks related to the potential sub-projects benefitting from EIB support. The Final beneficiaries will be required to comply with applicable national and EU legislation in respect of environmental and social matters, as appropriate.

Sub-projects need to comply with the EU acquis and the EIB will require to the final recipients under the new portfolio to take all the requisite measures to ensure that procurement procedures carried out will comply with the relevant EU procurement legislation and the applicable national legislation, provided that it is in conformity with EU rules.