Funding Secured for Serbia's Largest Windfarm

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The largest proposed windfarm in Serbia will go ahead following a large financial injection from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

A loan of 215 million euro ($253 million) has been made to the 158-megawatt (MW) Cibuk 1 windfarm, the largest wind project in Serbia and the western Balkans to date. The loan makes up the bulk of the 300 million euro ($353 million) needed for the windfarm, and the agreement was signed in Belgrade with Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić.

The project is being developed by Vetroelektrane Balkana, owned by Tesla Wind, which is a joint venture between Masdar, a renewable-energy company based in Abu Dhabi and Cibuk Wind Holding, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based wind energy developer Continental Wind Partners (Wilmington, Delaware).

Harry Boyd-Carpenter, EBRD director of power and energy utilities, commented: "The Cibuk windfarm is a breakthrough for Serbia as the country works to meet its commitment to produce 27% of domestic power needs from renewable energy sources by 2020. The EBRD has worked closely with the government to develop and refine the regulatory framework for the sector, and these efforts have now unlocked job-generating foreign investment and the first wave of renewable energy projects."

The EBRD has been investing in green energy projects for 10 years, and as part of its Green Economy Transition it will increase the volume of green financing from an average of 24% of its annual investments to 40% by 2020. To date, the EBRD has invested more than €4 billion ($4.7 billion) directly in renewable energy, supporting projects in more than 20 countries and funding more than 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity.

Cibuk 1 will be built 50 kilometres to the northeast of the Serbian capital Belgrade and use 57 wind turbines supplied by General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Boston, Massachusetts). They will cover area of about 40 square kilometers. The plant will be commissioned in the first half of 2019 and will be capable of generating enough electricity for an estimated 113,000 households, while reducing CO2 emissions by more than 370,000 tonnes.

Yousif Al Ai, chairman of Tesla Wind, said: "The development of the largest wind farm in the Western Balkans is a pivotal moment for the expansion of renewables in the region and positions Serbia at the forefront of Europe's fastest-growing alternative energy sector."

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