ESB has raised €500 million through its inaugural European Green Bond, becoming the first Irish corporate to issue under the EU's European Green Bond Regulation. The 10-year bond, ESB's fourth green bond overall, carries a coupon of 4.375% and directs proceeds toward decarbonising Ireland's energy system.

ESB is a state-owned Irish utility that reported turnover of €7.25 billion for 2024, with profit after tax of €706 million, and plans to invest approximately €20 billion by 2030 to expand an electricity system capable of supporting housing growth, economic expansion and technological change, in line with the government's National Development Plan.

The structural driver is the European Green Bond Standard becoming the reference format for green-labelled utility debt, replacing self-designed frameworks with a regulated structure that gives investors a standardised basis for assessing green claims across the EU. Moody's Ratings independently assessed ESB's updated Green Finance Framework and assigned it the agency's highest sustainability quality score of "Excellent," alongside a pre-issuance review of the accompanying factsheet.

Eligible investments under the framework span electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure, renewable electricity generation and battery energy storage systems. BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking and ING acted as joint sustainability coordinators on the framework and factsheet, while BBVA, Goodbody, ING, MUFG and Société Générale served as joint bookrunners on the transaction.

The bond builds on ESB's existing green bond programme, which previously financed projects including the 114MW Grousemount wind farm in County Kerry and investment in the Galloper offshore wind farm in Great Britain.

Anne Marie Kean, ESB group treasurer, said the issuance is "an important milestone in the evolution of our sustainable finance programme," adding that strong investor support "reflects confidence in ESB's strategy and our significant investment programme to modernise and expand Ireland's electricity infrastructure."

For the sector, ESB's move to the regulated EU standard shows large state-owned utilities treating standardised green bond formats as a way to widen their investor base rather than relying solely on established green bond frameworks.

Source: onestopesg.com / esb.ie / renews.biz