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EBRD approves financing for Gulf of Suez mega wind farm: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a USD 275 mn syndicated loan to Saudi renewables giant Acwa Power and Hassan Allam Utilities’ 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez — the largest wind project in both Africa and the Middle East, according to statements here and here.
We knew this was coming: We first heard about the loan back in November, when the two companies were said to be in talks with the EBRD over the funding.
Everyone is pitching in: The EBRD is contributing USD 200 mn and the remaining USD 75 mn will be coming from Arab Bank (USD 60 mn) and Standard Chartered (USD 15 mn). The USD 1.1 bn project is also backed by a USD 170 mn loan from the African Development Bank, a USD 40 mn loan from the OPEC Fund for International Development, the British International Investment, Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, and the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation.
Is financing on track? The two companies are reportedly set to secure close to USD 900 mn in financing by the end of the year for their 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, a source with knowledge of the matter told EnterpriseAM in September.
IN OTHER EBRD NEWS-
Turkey’s Kavram Enerji gets USD 42 mn loan for solar production: Turkey’s Kavram Enerji — a subsidiary of Fiba Renewables — has secured a USD 42 mn (EUR 39.7 mn) loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), according to a press release. The money will go towards building solar power plants in Isparta and Balikesir.
About the plants: A 55 MW hybrid solar power plant will be built in Isparta, and another 20 MW plant will be built in Balikesir. Together, the plants will reduce emissions by 37k tons annually.
EBRD 💚 Fiba: The loan is part of a first round of investments in a partnership between EBRD and Fiba focusing on scalable hybrid solutions in Turkey. The bank hopes that the partnership will work as a “catalyst” for the large-scale expansion of hybrid renewables projects, which combine two or more renewable sources, usually with the support of a battery storage system and a shared connection point, to increase efficiency and reliability.
Turkey, too: EBRD is a major supporter of Turkish leasing and lending companies, providing multiple facilities to support on-lending for green projects. In the last few months, it announced three loans totaling EUR 100 mn from its Green Economy Financing Facility II (GEEF II) to finance on-lending for green projects. It also extended a EUR 55 mn loan to Turkish renewable energy firm Borusan EnBW Enerji in September to build a 116 MW onshore wind energy project in Sivas and Tekirdağ. EBRD’s total investments in the country since 2009 have hit the EUR 20 bn mark.
