London, December 16, 2008—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are supporting the development of sustainable energy sources in Bulgaria, providing €198 million in loans to construct a 156-megawatt wind farm that will help the country promote clean energy and reduce its dependency on fossil fuels.
IFC, EBRD, and UniCredit Markets and Investment Banking are providing a €223 million loan package with a syndication structure. EBRD is retaining €70 million on its own books, while IFC is lending €40 million. The syndicated loans of both institutions total €88 million, and have been underwritten by UniCredit Markets and Investment Banking, which plans to launch a limited syndication shortly. A further €25 million loan facility is being provided by UniCredit Bulbank.
The project will be the largest wind farm in the country, as well as in Eastern Europe. It will significantly increase Bulgaria’s installed wind generation capacity from 70 megawatts, generating just over 1 percent of the country’s power consumption.
The wind farm, which will be owned and operated by AES Geo Energy OOD, will consist of 52 three-megawatt Vestas wind turbines. The company is a majority-owned subsidiary of the AES Corporation, one of the world’s largest power companies. AES GEO Energy has signed a 12-year power purchase agreement with the Bulgarian National Electricity Company.
In 2007, IFC committed $1.5 billion to key regional industries including financial markets and general manufacturing in Southern Europe and Central Asia. IFC has provided more than $2 billion in financing for wind and other renewable energy projects and recently announced renewable energy and climate change mitigation as new strategic pillars of its work.
The project also shows that wind farm development can be achieved without compromising environmental best practice. AES has pledged to work with the local authorities and stakeholders to develop a sanctuary for migrating birds close to the project area.
“IFC and EBRD have coordinated very closely with AES and their independent ornithological experts to ensure the design and implementation of sound environmental and social standards for this highly efficient renewable energy project,” said Shahbaz Mavaddat, IFC Director for Southern Europe and Central Asia.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totalled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EBRD, owned by 61 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, is supporting the development of market economies and democracies in countries from central Europe to central Asia. For more information, visit
www.ebrd.com
.