Erste Bank to provide financing for Serbian wind farm

Enlight Renewable Energy

26/09/2017 12:24

BELGRADE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Austria's Erste bank  ERST.VI  
will provide the bulk of the financing for construction of one 
of the first wind farms in Serbia, as the country seeks to move 
to cleaner energy. 
    Erste bank said its Serbian unit had agreed to provide a 113 
million euro ($134 mln) loan to Israel's Enlight Renewable 
Energy  ENLT.TA , which is running the project.  
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) 
has already committed to lend up to 50 million euros for the 
104.5 megawatt (MW) farm, which is due to be completed in 2018. 
    The total cost of the project is estimated at 189 million 
euros. 
    The wind farm in the northern town of Kovacica, 50 
kilometres (31 miles) northeast of the capital Belgrade, is one 
of several due to be built in the next few years in Serbia, 
which produces 70 percent of its energy from coal and the rest 
from hydro power. 
    The farm will comprise of 38 wind turbines with 2.75 MW 
capacity each. It will help lower Serbia's annual carbon dioxide 
emissions by around 247,000 tonnes and help the country meet an 
objective to secure 27 percent of total energy consumption from 
renewables by 2020, Erste  SBKG.UL  said in a statement. 
  
 ($1 = 0.8465 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by Maja Zuvela in Sarajevo; Editing by Susan Fenton) 
 ((maja.zuvela@thomsonreuters.com; +387 33 295 485; Reuters 
Messaging: maja.zuvela.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SERBIA ERSTE BANK GRP/WINDFARM