Britain’s state-owned Green Investment Bank today celebrates its second birthday, having mobilised more than £5 billion of investment into renewable energy projects across the UK over the past two years since opening its UK head office in Edinburgh.
Set up in October 2012, it began operations as the first dedicated green bank in the world – backed with £3.8bn of public capital – to accelerate investment in green energy infrastructure.
Since then, the bank has committed to invest in 37 new projects with £1.6bn of its own capital. All of these investments have been both green (delivering a material, positive environmental impact) and profitable.
For every £1 the bank invests, it mobilises a further £3 from the private sector, often from international investors. In total, it has backed projects that will see more than £5bn of new energy infrastructure projects go ahead. GIB has co-invested alongside more than 70 domestic and international financiers.
Every one of GIB’s investments has been made on fully commercial terms and its current portfolio of investments is expected to deliver an annual return of 9%. It is projected to make an annual operating profit of more than £10 million a year.
British Govt Business Secretary Vince Cable – who holds Cabinet responsibility at Westminster for the bank – said: “Government action was necessary to jump start investment in cleaner, greener technology and the bank is delivering. GIB has given investors the confidence to back projects that simply would not have happened without it.”
Bank chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin (who is also part time Chairman of the eponymous Devolution Commission on more powers for Holyrood) said: “I am especially proud of the fact that we are investing in every part of the UK, from the Highlands of Scotland to Northern Ireland, Wales and all parts of England.
“Every pound we invest and every project we support strengthens our position as the most active investor in the UK’s green economy.”
GIB-announced transactions:
1: where no fund manager is listed the investment was made directly by GIB.
| Project | GIB (£m) | Total (£m) | Fund Manager 1 | |
| Citi data centre retrofit | 2.6 | 5.2 | SDCL | |
| TEG Biogas Plant, Dagenham | 2.0 | 20.9 | Foresight | |
| Greenlight Anaerobic Digestion Project | 7.8 | 16.0 | Greensphere | |
| Walney Offshore Wind Farm | 45.6 | 224.3 | – | |
| Drax Biomass Conversion | 100.0 | 990.0 | – | |
| Wakefield Waste PFI | 30.4 | 121.7 | – | |
| Gloucester Waste PPP | 46.8 | 185.4 | – | |
| Green Deal Finance Company | 125.0 | 168.7 | – | |
| Addenbrooke’s Hospital Energy Efficiency Retrofit | 18.4 | 36.9 | – | |
| Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm | 57.5 | 115.1 | – | |
| Roundwood Biomass Boiler Platform | 4.9 | 10.0 | Equitix | |
| Kingspan Building Retrofit | 0.4 | 0.8 | SDCL | |
| Schools Biomass Platform | 0.4 | 0.9 | Equitix | |
| Distillery Biomass Platform 1 (inc. Tomatin) | 0.6 | 1.2 | Equitix | |
| Evermore Waste to Energy Plant | 20.2 | 81.3 | Foresight | |
| Port Talbot Biomass Plant | 11.3 | 24.9 | Greensphere | |
| London Array Offshore Wind Farm | 58.6 | 266.0 | – | |
| West London Waste PFI | 20.0 | 223.7 | – | |
| NCP Low Energy Lighting Project | 4.2 | 8.8 | SDCL | |
| Merseyside Waste PFI | 20.0 | 335.5 | – | |
| Birmingham Biopower Gasification Plant[1] | 17.6 | 46.9 | Foresight | |
| Societe Generale Equipment Finance Energy Efficiency Plant | 25.0 | 50.0 | – | |
| Bernard Matthews Boiler Replacement | 12.0 | 24.8 | Equitix | |
| St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Energy Efficiency Retrofit | 1.3 | 2.6 | SDCL | |
| Cheltenham General Hospital CHP Project | 1.2 | 3.2 | Aviva | |
| Gwynt y Mor Offshore Wind Farm | 220.0 | 440.0 | – | |
| Westermost Rough Offshore Wind Farm | 240.8 | 888.4 | – | |
| Distillery Biomass Platform 2 | 1.9 | 3.8 | Equitix | |
| Willen Anaerobic Digestion Project | 7.5 | 15.0 | Foresight | |
| SME EE Platform | 1.0 | 2.0 | SCDL | |
| Northern Ireland on-farm anaerobic digestion: PAR Renewables | 1.5 | 3.0 | Foresight | |
| Northern Ireland on-farm anaerobic digestion: Bridge Energy | 1.7 | 3.5 | Foresight | |
| Speyside CHP Project | 12.7 | 74.0 | – | |
| Derby Energy from Waste Plant | 64.0 | 191.0 | – | |
| De Lage Landen Funding Alliance | 25.0 | 50.0 | – |
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