By Vanora Bennett
Highlights
- EBRD forms a renewable energy joint venture with the GOLDBECK SOLAR Group for Ukraine that targets the development of up to 500 MWp of solar PV projects over the next 3 to 5 years
- Energy security is a key priority for EBRD investments in Ukraine
- EBRD is Ukraine's largest institutional investor, with a focus on private sector
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) established a renewable energy joint venture with GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment, which plans to construct and operate new solar PV projects in Ukraine, part of its efforts is to improve the resilience of the Ukrainian energy sector, which has come under fierce attacks by Russia in recent months.
EBRD is financing the first private energy deal led by a foreign investor to add renewable generation capacity in Ukraine since February 2022.
The deal, announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, will strengthen EBRD's relationship with the GOLDBECK SOLAR Group, an experienced German solar energy company with more than two decades of experience in the sector and with active operations in over 12 countries. The GOLDBECK SOLAR Group currently employs over 550 people and has built in excess of 3 GW (gigawatts) of solar capacity in 20 countries.
The establishment of GOLDBECK SOLAR Investment Ukraine GmbH is a joint effort aimed at supporting Ukraine's domestic electricity generation with the goal of developing up to 500 MWp of new renewable energy production facilities. It will be the group's first investment and operation in Ukraine, and it also serves as an important benchmark for catalysing foreign direct investments in Ukraine's energy sector, especially with a focus on reconstruction and green transition.
Ukraine's energy ministry has quantified the damage done by recent Russian attacks, saying that, by end-April 2024, production capacities of around 13 GW across the country had been damaged or destroyed, causing rolling blackouts across the country. At present, the system runs with a constant deficit of operating electricity generation capacity needed to maintain the power integrity and stable functioning of Ukraine's transmission grid.
Energy security is one of the EBRD's five investment priorities for Ukraine, along with support for vital infrastructure, food security, trade and the private sector. In light of the attacks on the sector, the EBRD has been reworking its pipeline of future projects to offer more support to the country with investments in the energy industry.
The EBRD, Ukraine's largest institutional investor, has significantly increased its finance to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale war there in 2022. The Bank has made over 4.2 billion available to Ukraine since the start of the war. EBRD shareholders have recently agreed to provide a 4 billion paid-in capital increase to enable the Bank to continue investing at current levels in wartime, with the potential for more investments when reconstruction starts.
