The solar energy sector in Ukraine is continuing to attract new financing, with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, the latest to commit money.
The EBRD will plow up to 25.9 million euros, or $32 million, into the development of three solar plants in Ukraine’s western Vinnitsya region with a total installed capacity of 33.9 megawatts, the bank said in a press release issued on March 2.
The project is being executed through the EBRD’s renewable energy investment fund, called the Ukraine Sustainable Energy Lending Facility, or USELF, in partnership with the energy company KNESS Group and the European Union’s EU4Business initiative, which supports small- and medium-sized enterprises.
The financing will include a 10-year EBRD loan of up to $23 million and another 10-year loan of $9.1 million from the World Bank’s Clean Technology Fund.
“This renewable facility will significantly contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions,” the EBRD’s press release said. “Nearly 350 people will be employed during the construction, and approximately 15 during operations.”
This is the thirteenth project financed by USELF. Together, the operating projects generate over 150 megawatts of renewable energy. USELF’s total financing is over $170 million.
The EBRD has invested almost $15 billion in some 400 projects in Ukraine since 1993.
Only 7.5 percent of Ukraine’s generated electricity comes from renewable sources, mainly from hydropower, according to Ukraine’s Association of Renewable Energy. But many investors have entered Ukraine’s local market to generate green electricity in the past two years alone, including: Eco Optima, UDP Renewables, TIU Canada, Rengy Development, Recom, and Rener.
