Stepping up our efforts in renewable energy – despite the challenges in the sector

For Better Business

2012 was a busy year for the ING Commercial Banking Structured Finance, Utilities, Power and Renewables team. The team closed eight large renewable energy transactions throughout Europe. Together, all renewable energy transactions accounted for approximately 60% of the total value of all EMEA power deals done by ING during the year.
At a global level the share of Renewables is around 31% of the energy portfolio. This is a reflection of both the regional appetite for these types of projects and the challenges we face in this sector.

The renewable energy sector is an important example of a sustainable sector in which we are pursuing business opportunities while increasing the volume of sustainable business. But it is a challenging – and capital hungry – sector. Even though renewable energy enjoyed substantial progress in 2012, the market in general is still struggling to balance the potential benefits of green power with the challenges of managing renewable energy regulation, integration and cost. Nonetheless, as we aim to meet the growing demand for products that serve environmental objectives, we decided to continue our mission to shift the energy lending portfolio and step up our efforts.

The eight large renewable energy transactions that the ING Structured Finance platform closed in 2012 further diversify our energy portfolio in Europe. The team successfully concluded transactions which helped finance wind farms and solar plants in countries as varied as Norway, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Belgium and the UK. The total value of deals in renewable energy by the team accounted for approximately 60% of the total value of all energy deals done by ING in Europe during the year. The share of Renewables in the global portfolio remains stable at around 31%.

The pace in which we can grow our share in Renewables is dependent on outside factors. The economic and financial crisis has resulted in a slow-down of new Renewables projects as regulatory support regimes came under review. ING remains committed to sustainable energy sources and an ongoing shift in the energy lending portfolio. In 2005 we started with a total percentage of renewable deals of 4%.