The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €49 million to Iniziative Bresciane S.p.A. (INBRE) for the construction of 12 small run-of-river hydroelectric plants and the enhancement and restoration of 13 river weirs on the Arno river in Tuscany, Italy. INBRE is to onlend the EIB funds to Iniziative Toscane (Intos) for the project.
The restoration and installation work will help restore the water management infrastructure of the Arno river to improve the region’s climate resilience, including via the reforestation of adjacent areas. The financing will aim to reduce the environmental impact of pre-existing architectural elements and preserve local biodiversity.
The operation will help create almost 10MW of renewable energy capacity, with an estimated efficiency of 55GWh a year, as well as further improving the flood safety of the Arno river. When implementing the project, special care will be taken regarding the conservation of historical heritage in the areas of Sieci, Compiobbi, San Niccolò and Isolotto by contributing to the development of flood prevention on the Lungarno.
The financing – which falls under the EIB's Green Developer Financing Programme – will contribute to the Italian government's decarbonisation targets in line with the Paris Agreements, and also to the EIB's own objectives of climate action, pollution prevention and climate change adaptation.
