The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that it and Raiffeisen Bank will provide a €110 million financing package for constructing and operating two solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in south-eastern Romania.
An EBRD loan of €55 million, complemented by an equal amount from Raiffeisen Bank International, will be divided into two tranches of €25 million and €30 million.
The initial tranche will benefit from a partial first-loss guarantee the European Union provides through the InvestEU programme.
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The two power plants will have a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) and will be established in Lepuresti and Ghimpati.
The project is expected to generate 386 gigawatts-hour of renewable electricity annually, avoiding about 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. As per the announcement, the electricity produced will be sold on the local market.
Grzegorz Zielinski, EBRD Head of Energy Europe, said, “We are excited to support Nofar Energy’s renewable energy investments in Romania, with the support of the InvestEU guarantee.”
He added, “These solar power plants will increase Romania’s renewable capacity, supporting the country’s ambition to add 11.9 GW of new renewable capacity by 2030.”
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Until today, the EBRD has endowed nearly €11 billion as funding in 524 projects across Romania.
The Iepuresti and Ghimpati projects mark the growing confidence in Romania’s renewables market in the wake of key regulatory changes to support the country’s ambitious green energy programme.