Italy, April 8 -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Societe Generale have signed a €153 million financing agreement to support the construction and operation of the Sand Solar project, a 137 MW photovoltaic plant located in the municipalities of Monreale and Gibellina in Sicily. The investment is part of ramped up EIB support for renewable energy generation under the REPowerEU initiative and contributes directly to Italy's integrated national energy and climate plan (PNIEC) for 2030.Once operational, the plant is expected to generate around 256 GWh of renewable electricity per year - enough to power nearly 100 000 households while avoiding some 85 000 tonnes of CO? emissions annually, compared with fossil fuel-based power generat...