ERBD Funds Latest Romanian Windfarm

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - Romania's burgeoning renewable energy market received a welcome boost from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) which is supplying a €57 million ($77.3 million) loan for the Topolog-Dorobanțu windfarm in south eastern Romania.

The project will use 42 Vestas V90 2 MW wind turbines and is located in the municipalities of Dorobanțu, Topolog and Casimcea in the Tulcea region. With a total generating capacity of 84-megawatts (MW) it will generate more than 200 gigawatt hours (GWh) of power a year and offset an estimated 84 kilotons of CO2 emissions. The project is being developed by LUKERG Renew, a joint venture established in May 2011 by Italy's ERG Renew (Genoa, Italy) and Russia's Lukoil OAO (MCX:LKOH) (Moscow, Russia) with the goal of focusing on Bulgaria and Romania initially, and expanding to Ukraine and Russia.

ERG Renew is Italy's largest wind energy producer, with an installed capacity of 1,340 MW throughout Europe while LUKOIL is best known as an oil and gas company, accounting for 2.2% of the global output of crude oil.

Signing the deal in Bucharest, EBRD Senior Banker Louis Borgo said: "Romania has large potential in renewable energy. We are happy to have been able to provide much-needed long-term financing to projects that help the country generate clean energy and support transition to a low-carbon economy. At the EBRD we are very proud to have made a significant contribution to helping Romania reach its renewable energy targets."

The ERBD's Romanian wind energy portfolio stands at 473 MW, accounting for 18% of Romania's 2,619 MW of installed wind power capacity. The Bank has investment €164 million in wind projects in the country and mobilised finance of over €220 million. The Bank is the largest institutional investor in Romania. Since the start of its operations in the country, the EBRD has invested approximately €6.7 billion across 360 projects while mobilising a further €14 billion in financing from other sources.

Some of the other key wind projects the Bank has invested in include the 108 MW Crucea North windfarm and the 90 MW Pestera windfarm. Industrial Info reported on the ERBD guaranteeing funding for the Crucea North project in the Black Sea region of Dobrogea earlier this year. It is owned by leading German energy company Steag AG (Essen, Germany). For additional information, see March 10, 2014, article - Finance Secured for Romanian Crucea North Windfarm.

Romania is already home to Europe's largest onshore windfarm, the 600 MW Fantanele-Cogealac windfarm, which boasts 240 wind turbines and was connected to the Romanian electricity grid in December 2012. Located in one of Europe's windiest spots in the Romanian province of Dobrogea, it can power approximately one million households. For additional information, see November 26, 2012, article - Romania Celebrates Europe's Largest Onshore Windfarm .

View Project Report - 300079532 300010661 300093508

View Plant Profile - 1081732 1081750

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.