AIIB to back Turkish renewables with US$200m in loans for private players

Istanbul skyline. Source: Creative Commons, Inigo Alonso

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) approved this week a US$200 million investment package to help stimulate private-sector investment in renewables in Turkey.

Privately-owned companies looking to invest in new wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects, or to improve the energy efficiency of existing projects, can apply for 'sub-loans' through the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey (TKYB).

AIIB vice-president D.J. Pandian said in a statement on Monday that the investment is timely, given that Turkey’s overall energy demand is expected to increase 50% over the next decade and renewable energy’s share of that demand to climb to 50% by 2023.

“AIIB’s financing will help address TKYB’s need for long-term capital for infrastructure projects,” he said.

The long-term financing is expected to close by November 2023.

Turkey is one of the world’s fastest-growing PV markets, according to industry analysts. This June, Wood Mackenzie placed Ankara among 12 global solar “growth engines” – markets where between 1-5GW of PV capacity is installed annually – for the second year running.

The Eurasian state is set to increase its renewables capacity from 42GW at the end of 2018 to 63GW in 2024, according to International Energy Agency figures published in October.

The International Renewable Energy Agency pinned total PV installations in the country at 5GW-plus at the close of 2018.

In the same package, AIIB committed US$300 million for urban earthquake resilience infrastructure in Turkey.

To date, the development financier has invested US$1.4 billion in the country.

Tags: asian infrastructure investment bank, turkey, lending facility, development and investment bank of turkey, europe, asia, wood mackenzie, aiib