€ 1,55 billion UK wind farm fund

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has contributed UK£ 700 million (€ 775 million) to a new UK£ 1,4 billion (€ 1,55 billion) fund to provide loans for the construction of new wind farms in the UK.

The EIB funds will be matched by the private sector, with RBS, Lloyds Banking Group and BNP Paribas Fortis participating. Loans of between UK£ 20 million (€ 22 million) and UK£ 100 million (€ 110 million) will be available from the fund for onshore projects over the next three years.

The scheme, focussed on small and medium-sized wind farms is supported by the British Government through the Treasury and Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Speaking at the launch of the fund secretary of state for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Milliband said, "The UK now has 4 GW of wind capacity and the pace of installation is picking up. It took us 14 years to build the first gigawatt, and just one year to build the last. But still need a six-fold increase in renewables by 2020 to hit our renewables target."