The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), together with Erste Group Bank AG and its local bank Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad (Erste), have approved a financing package for the construction of a 94MW wind farm in Serbia.
The €91.4m project will be built by Enlight Renewable Energy (Enlight).
The EBRD and Erste will provide parallel loans, worth €45.7m each, including the associated debt service reserve facilities.
Enlight’s local subsidiary will use the proceeds to develop, construct and operate the wind farm, which has been originated by Enlight and New Energy Solutions (NES), and named in honour of Mihajlo Pupin, one of Serbia’s greatest scientists.
The Pupin project is expected to begin operating commercially in the second half of 2025.
It is an extension of the existing Kovacica (Blacksmith) windfarm in Vojvodina, which is also owned by Enlight and was financed by the same lenders in 2017.
This project was financed under Serbia’s first renewable energy auction for wind capacity, which took place in 2023 and awarded contract-for-difference for 400MW.
A second and third auction, each for 300MW of wind capacity, are expected to take place in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Similar auctions will be held in parallel for solar power plants. The scheme was developed and launched with technical and policy support from the EBRD and was funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The scheme encourages the market integration of renewables, as developers receive support in line with market prices, as well as income from the sale of electricity.
Matteo Colangeli, EBRD regional director for the Western Balkans, said: “Serbia’s decision to move ahead with auctions is proving to be a game changer in terms of unlocking the country’s renewable energy potential.
“We are pleased to see Pupin being the first project to reach financial close and moving quickly through implementation, proving that speed of execution and best practice in terms of environmental and social standards can go together.
“We are committed to support Serbia’s second wind and solar auction later this year to continue accelerating the country’s green transition.”
Gilad Yavetz, chief executive and co-founder of Enlight Renewable Energy, said: “Building the Pupin windfarm in close proximity to our existing Kovacica (Blacksmith) site represents a noteworthy implementation of our ‘Interconnection Expand’ strategy.
“We were able to leverage the technical knowledge and transmission infrastructure that was already in place at Kovacica, resulting in greater efficiency and higher returns for Pupin.
“In addition, we were fortunate to engage once again with our partners EBRD and Erste for financing of the Pupin project; these are the same lenders who supported us in the development of the Kovacica site.”