Triodos Bank has been found to be the most active for financing green energy projects, according to new analysis.
The European financial institution, which has its British head office in Bristol, was ranked first in the study after it acted on 140 deals in 2022, with a total value of around half a billion US dollars (£406m).
The projects it backed incorporated traditional renewables such as onshore wind, solar and hydro, alongside EV charging, battery storage and energy efficiency projects.
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Notable transactions during the year included the construction of the largest solar thermal park in the Netherlands, community energy and e-bike infrastructure projects in the UK and photovoltaic solar plants in Spain.
The report from independent analyst Clean Energy Pipeline aimed to showcase the top lead arrangers in the clean energy sector, highlighting the number of deals that banks help to finance, as well as the total deal value in the renewable energy project finance sector.
Jacco Minnaar, chief commercial officer at Triodos Bank, said: “It has been clear to us for decades that energy systems need to shift from being fossil-based and large scale to clean energy that is accessible and affordable for everyone. Financial institutions such as banks have a critical role to play in committing to this transition to a low-carbon and more energy efficient future.
“Triodos Bank financed the first wind turbine in the Netherlands in 1986 and now has many years of unique experience in renewable energy finance. We provide funding to small and mid-sized projects that are often community-based and that many other banks might not be prepared to look at. These will be critical to creating resilient and balanced energy generation systems that are sustainable and fair.”
Triodos Bank has been operating in Europe for over 40 years. The bank first entered the renewables market in the mid-1980s with a focus on wind energy and has since broadened its focus across the wider renewable and environmental sectors. Triodos Bank is actively developing support for decentralised and non-mainstream projects such as roof top solar, geothermal, energy storage and energy efficiency.
In March Triodos reported a rise in UK profits and customers, despite “challenging economic conditions” slowing investment plans. The bank’s UK arm generated profit after tax of £9.2m, while UK customers numbers grew by 3.5% in the year to around 90,000 and customer deposits increased 2.1% to £1.6bn.
