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Green Financing

We are demonstrating our commitment to financing projects that will support our net zero future ambition. In 2019, we issued Ireland's first corporate public green bond and have issued a number of subsequent green bonds since. At 30 June 2024, 23% of total debt was made up of green bonds.

ESB's Green Bond Framework

We consider green bonds as an effective tool to channel liquidity into assets which facilitate the transition to low carbon electricity generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and therefore support our Net Zero by 2040 strategy. 

We believe that green bonds offer transparency to investors who wish to allocate funds to green assets, and in doing so support ESB’s transition to reliable, affordable, low carbon energy as well as adding a further diversity to our investor base.

We use the net proceeds of our green bonds to finance eligible projects according to the ESB Green Bond Framework.

Renewable Wind Farms

We are developing a pipeline of onshore wind farm developments with our most recent one at Oweninny in Co Mayo, in partnership with Bord na Mona. At 192MW, it is one of Ireland's largest onshore wind farms.

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Smart Meter Roll Out

ESB Networks has been tasked with the delivery of the National Smart Metering Programme, which involves upgrading all of Ireland’s electricity meters to smart meters, supporting Ireland's transition to a low carbon future by enabling the development of smart grids.

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Battery Energy Storage Projects

We are developing a pipeline of projects to deliver large scale batteries, as well as additional flexible enabling technologies. This is crucial to supporting the grid and will facilitate ever more onshore wind, offshore wind and solar onto the electricity system in the coming decades.

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ESB Green Bond Framework 2023

PDF | 2MB

ESB Green Bond Framework Second Party Opinion

PDF | 562KB

ESB Green Bond Presentation – September 2023

PDF | 2MB

Previous Frameworks and Second Party Opinions

ESB’s Green Bond Reports

ESB commits to reporting annually on the environmental contribution of projects which are funded by our Green Bonds until the bond is fully allocated. ESB’s Green Bond Reports and the relevant external review by Sustainalytics are found below.

Major projects such as Grousemount Wind Farm and Galloper Offshore Wind Farm have benefited from funds allocated by ESB’s Green Bond Framework, as well as the national smart meter rollout programme.

ESB Green Bond Report 2023

PDF | 617KB

ESB Green Bond Report 2022

PDF | 818KB

ESB Green Bond Report 2021

PDF | 1MB

ESB Green Bond Report 2020 - 2021

PDF | 365KB

ESB Green Bond Report 2019-2020

PDF | 1019KB

ESB Green Bond Annual Review Sustainalytics 2023

PDF | 222KB

ESB Green Bond Annual Review Sustainalytics 2022

PDF | 187KB

ESB Green Bond Annual Review Sustainalytics 2021

PDF | 209KB

ESB Green Bond Annual Review Sustainalytics 2020-2021

PDF | 197KB

ESB Green Bond Annual Review Sustainalytics 2019-2020

PDF | 153KB

ESB further demonstrated its commitment to financing projects that will significantly drive a renewable energy future by becoming the first Irish utility to have a syndicated sustainability linked loan.

The €1.4 billion, five-year loan has been provided by 14 international banks, with BNP Paribas acting as Sustainability Coordinator – represents a second major statement by ESB Treasury to deliver renewable projects with the support of the sustainable finance markets.

The key deliverables associated with the loan are directly linked with the Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan and are aimed at reducing carbon emissions from ESB’s generation fleet while increasing the amount of energy produced from renewable technologies.

ESB also continues to focus on producing clean, secure and affordable energy – delivering smart, reliable, resilient networks to enable the connection of more renewable generation and development of major green projects including onshore and offshore wind, solar and investment in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

ESG and Sustainability Responsibility

Our annual sustainability reports along with our annual CDP score report outline how ESB is performing against sustainability targets.

Our reporting is guided by the principles of materiality, inclusiveness and responsiveness. We use leading standards and methodologies for reporting, such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, CDP and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards Core option and has been independently assessed by DNV against this option.

All our reporting is available in our Sustainability Section here.