ESB borrows €500m in first ever ‘green bond’

State-owned power company ESB has borrowed €500 million in the Republic's first ever "green bond" to finance electric vehicle recharging points and renewable energy.

ESB said on Tuesday that it had issued a €500 million bond to European investors that is due to repay in June 2030 at an interest rate of 1.125 per cent.

The State company will use the cash borrowed to finance renewable electricity generating projects, connecting wind farms to the national power grid and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

According to a statement, European institutional investors were the main buyers, with orders from them reaching more than €4 billion. The demand allowed ESB to get the cash at the low 1.125 per cent interest rate.

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ESB noted that the loan’s purposes match the International Capital Market Association’s “green bond principles”, making it the first financing of its kind undertaken by an Irish company.

Pat Fenlon, ESB's group finance director, said the company would use the loan to finance projects that would help the Republic meet ambitious climate change targets.

“We are developing a pipeline of projects across a range of technologies, including onshore and offshore wind and solar, as well as investing in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure.”

Dankse Bank, JP Morgan, BBVA and Société Générale managed the placement for ESB.