The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has backed a €25 million (US$27 million) investment into a 112.5MW solar PV project in north-eastern Bulgaria.
The EBRD will guarantee the €25 million loan from UniCredit Bulbank to the Tsenovo solar plant through its risk-sharing framework, which sees the EBRD share risk with ‘Partner Financial Institutions’ on investments into local companies.
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According to a press release from the EBRD, this is the first transaction for a greenfield renewable energy project to be backed by the risk-sharing framework.
The Tsenovo plant is ‘sponsored’ by Vienna-headquartered renewable energy developer Energy Development, a relatively small developer operational across central and eastern Europe. It owns another, smaller PV project in the centre of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria is aiming to phase out coal generation by 2038. This publication spoke last year with the CEO of Bulgarian solar developer HEC Solar (premium access) about how a raft of recent legislation is set to make that target more achievable, particularly as it pertains to the rollout of solar PV capacity.
The EBRD said that it has invested a cumulative €4.5 billion (US$4.8 billion) into Bulgaria to date. In its 2020-25 strategy for Bulgaria the bank says it is committed to “the country’s sustainable infrastructure development through regional connectivity, green municipal solutions, decarbonisation and resource efficiency.”
More widely, the EBRD has supported projects in other emerging European solar markets. At the COP28 conference in the UAE, it announced backing for a 1.7GW renewables rollout plan in North Macedonia and last month it invested €100 million into a solar and wind development scheme from Finnish fund manager Taaleri Energia.
