Vetroelektrane Balkana has started commercial operations at the 158MW Cibuk 1 wind farm in Serbia.
The €300m project is located at Mramorak, 50km from the capital Belgrade, and comprises 57 GE 2.75-120 turbines.
The developer is wholly-owned by Tesla Wind, a joint venture between Masdar, Finnish fund Taaleri SolarWind I and the German development finance institution DEG.
Financial support for the wind farm came from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank.
EBRD arranged a €107.7m syndicated loan, of which €55m was syndicated to Erste Bank, the Green for Growth Fund, UniCredit and Banca Intesa under an A/B loan structure.
IFC also provided €107.7m, partially through its managed co-lending portfolio programme and partially through syndicated B loans.
EBRD regional director for the Western Balkans Zsuzsanna Hargitai said: “Investment in renewable energy is at the core of our energy strategy and we are very pleased to see Serbia making such good progress in renewables and to have been able to support these efforts.”
Masdar chief executive Mohamed Al Ramahi said: “In collaboration with the government of Serbia, our fellow shareholders in Tesla Wind, the lenders, contractors and our many other partners, Masdar is proud to successfully deliver the largest utility-scale commercial wind project in the Western Balkans.
“Cibuk 1 is not only a bold statement as to Serbia’s long-term renewable energy ambitions and its commitment to modernise its power sector, but also an investment in Serbia’s energy security.
“Together, we have delivered a truly outstanding project, a marvel of engineering that has created jobs and delivered lasting improvements in infrastructure.
“More than that, we have invested in the foundation of Serbia’s renewable energy sector, helping to create a legacy that will support the development of future projects.”