GIB agrees terms on £200m international investment pilot programme

UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) has agreed terms with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on a £200 million (US$298.3 million) international green investment pilot programme.

Key features include:

• The pilot will involve £200 million of investments. This is additional to GIB’s allocation of £3.8 billion to invest in UK projects;
• GIB will initially target three regions East Africa, South Africa and India;
• GIB will focus on investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency;
• GIB’s approach to the pilot will match the business model it has developed for the UK - investing in green projects on commercial terms and mobilising additional private sector capital;
• GIB will recruit a dedicated team to manage the project, overseen by a Board whose members will be drawn from DECC and GIB.

GIBwill now begin the process of finalising the programme details and identifying suitable investment opportunities.

Shaun Kingsbury, chief executive of UK Green Investment Bank, said:

This important new pilot programme will see GIB investing outside the UK for the first time. I am confident that our unique business model, tried and tested in the UK, will have a very positive effect in developing countries, helping them to build vital new green energy infrastructure.

The UK Green Investment Bank was launched in November 2012. With £3.8 billion of funding from the UK Government, it is the first bank of its kind in the world. It is a "for profit" bank, whose mission is to accelerate the UK's transition to a greener economy, and to create an enduring institution, operating independently of Government.