By Vanora Bennett
Highlights
- EBRD lends 50 million to build and operate a 237 MWp solar PV plant in Bulgaria
- Tenevo is first EBRD project in Bulgaria supported by InvestEU guarantee
- Project supports Bulgaria's green transition, with CO2 savings of 250,000 tonnes a year
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending up to 50 million to Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD to build and operate a fully merchant solar photo-voltaic plant in southeastern Bulgaria. The Tenevo plant is expected to generate more than 300 GWh of electricity a year and save 250,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. A parallel financing facility of 53 million will be provided by Raiffeisen Bank International, making the total finance package 103 million.
The project will be supported by first loss risk cover deployed under the EBRD's InvestEU Framework for Sustainable Transition, which aims to foster sustainable investment and convergence to EU norms, and will contribute to the Bulgarian green energy transition. This is the first use of the InvestEU guarantee by the EBRD in Bulgaria.
The Tenevo plant will add 238 MW of solar generation capacity to the Bulgarian national energy system, with a long-term plan to add on a 250MW capacity of behind-the-meter energy storage. This is an important project to advance towards Bulgaria's ambitious net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050 and reduce reliance on coal generation, which still dominates in the power system.
The project will be the first renewable energy plant over 100 MW that will sell all its output in the market without a support scheme or a corporate power purchase agreement in Bulgaria. The project is designated as Gender SMART as the Sponsors and the Company committed to sign the UN Women's Empowerment Principles to promote gender equality across the male-dominated energy sector in Bulgaria.
It will also strengthen the private sector presence in the renewable energy sector in Bulgaria.
Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD is a joint stock company incorporated in Bulgaria to construct and operate this plant. It is equally owned by two partners. One is Renalfa IPP, an Austrian joint venture between Renalfa Solarpro Group, a Vienna-based clean energy and e-mobility company, and RGreen Invest, a French renewables infrastructure fund. The second is Eurowind Energy, a Danish renewable energy developer and independent power producer.
"We are delighted to finance this sizeable merchant solar project, which highlights the Bank's continued support for Bulgaria's green transition, in today's context of concerns over regional energy security in light of Russia's war on Ukraine as well as to support Bulgaria's ambitious renewables and decarbonisation targets," said Grzegorz Zielinski, Head of Energy Europe in the EBRD's Sustainable Infrastructure Group.
"We are excited to partner with the EBRD and Raiffeisen Bank International on this ground-breaking project, which reflects our shared vision for a more sustainable future in Bulgaria. This collaboration represents a key landmark for the renewable energy investment community in the region, and we look forward to working together to bring our plans to reality," said Kalina Pelovska, executive director for Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD.
Renewable energy is expected to play a critical role in the decarbonisation of the economy of Bulgaria. The country is aiming for renewables to make up 34.7 per cent of its electricity consumption by 2030, more than double its 2020 target of 16 per cent.
This rising ambition is driving renewed interest in the sector, seeing about 1.3 GW of additional solar PV capacity being built over the past two years. In addition, this month Bulgaria's decarbonisation efforts have taken an important leap forward with the conclusion of the country's first renewable energy with co-located battery energy storage systems tender, which awarded grants to over 3 GW of new solar PV projects. This is part of Bulgaria's Recovery and Resilience Plan targets, which is also supported by EBRD, and aim for commissioning of at least another 3.5 GW of renewable capacity by 2026.
The EBRD is a leading Implementing Partner for the EU's InvestEU Programme, which supports sustainable investment, innovation and job creation in the European Union. It aims to trigger more than 372 billion in additional investment between 2021 and 2027. Between 2022 and 2027 InvestEU guarantees worth 635 million will be leveraged by the EBRD to finance investments of up to 2.7 billion in eligible sectors.
Through the programme the EBRD supports EU members states where the Bank invests, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
The EBRD, a leader in climate finance, is a major institutional investor in Bulgaria. To date it has financed 297 projects in the country for over 4.5 billion.
