By Jelena Pajic
Highlights
- 25.1 million from the EBRD and 15 million from UniCredit Bank d.d. for EPBiH's 50 MW SPP
- SPP to be built on a coal ash landfill, boosting decarbonisation and green transition
- Technical support from Austrian funds and the EBRD to ensure just transition
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a 25.1 million loan to Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EPBiH), the largest public electricity generation and distribution utility in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to develop and construct a 50 MWp solar power plant on a former coal ash landfill site.
In addition to its own financing, the EBRD has helped to mobilise further funds for the project, with UniCredit Bank d.d. providing a parallel loan of 15 million.
The proceeds of the loans will be used to develop, construct and operate two adjacent solar power plants (SPPs), with a combined capacity of 50 MWp, in the municipality of Gračanica.
The twin SPPs will be the largest solar project developed by the company to date and among its most significant investments in renewable energy. The project is part of a broader cooperation between the EBRD and EPBiH to facilitate the company's just transition to renewable energy.
As part of the project, the EBRD is supporting a 2050 technical cooperation initiative, in which several 2050 decarbonisation scenarios for EPBiH will be comprehensively assessed, along with their impact on EPBiH's operations, financial capital requirements, planning, project implementation structures and communication with stakeholders. A second technical cooperation initiative will support EPBiH in working with the authorities to introduce new educational standards in the renewable energy field, focused on a just transition in the context of workforce management challenges associated with decarbonisation.
Technical support for project preparation and implementation, as well as advisory support, are being provided by Austria through the Austrian Municipal Infrastructure Fund and the Austrian High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action. Additional funds for technical support are being provided by the EBRD's Shareholder Special Fund.
Such projects and the associated technical support are crucial to the decarbonisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the country targeting a 43.6 per cent renewable energy share by 2030.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than 3.2 billion in 233 projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bank's strategic priorities in the country are to promote the green economy, support the development of the private sector and foster regional integration.
