Czechia-based building manager CTP secured a €200 million ($214 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Tuesday, to bolster its deployment of solar modules across its portfolio of business parks. The funding is part of EIB's REPowerEU program, an ambitious initiative to invest €45 billion into clean energy projects between July 2023 and 2027.
CTP, one of Europe's largest industrial and logistics (I&L) property developers, owns and operates around 11 million square meters of warehouse and industrial space across ten European countries. The company initiated its solar deployment on its I&L buildings several years ago and by the end of 2022, had installed solar panels with a power capacity of 38MWp.
This year, CTP plans to add an additional 100MWp of solar capacity, driven by the EIB funding, which will significantly contribute to realizing CTP's medium-term goal of expanding its total solar capacity to 400MWp by the end of 2026. The company aims to nearly double its portfolio to 20 million sqm by the end of this decade.
Richard Wilkinson, group chief financial officer at CTP, expressed confidence in their strategy for large-scale installation of solar PV across their portfolio. He said, "The backing of the EIB is testament to the robust business strategy we have in place and allows us to obtain long-term unsecured financing at attractive conditions with all in cost of 4.5%."
The EIB is also optimistic about the impact of their loans on the region's energy transition. Lilyana Pavlova, Vice-President of EIB stated that loans like these help countries in the region break away from fossil fuels, lower their dependency on energy imports, and ultimately bring down electricity prices, benefiting everyone.
Despite the optimism, there are concerns about Europe's ability to reach its ambitious solar targets. Trade body SolarPower Europe reported that based on renewable targets published by individual countries, the continent aims to have installed 425GW of solar capacity by the end of this decade, up from the current 208GW. However, SolarPower Europe has recently called for protection from collapsing solar power prices for European manufacturers.
CTP sees renewable energy deployment as a means to bolster the security of power supply and contribute to climate action and social and economic cohesion. The company plans to establish completely energy-independent industrial parks, with all clean energy used onsite being self-generated within the parks. The excess energy will be supplied into the local power grid, benefiting neighboring communities and spurring energy transition for local regions.
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