The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed to provide a loan of $102m to Turkey’s Akfen Renewables for the construction of 13 renewable projects.
Image: The loan will help Turkey to move forward with its plans to increase renewables in its energy mix. Photo: Courtesy of European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.
EBRD’s loan will be used by Akfen Renewables to construct four wind farms and nine solar projects in Turkey, with a combined capacity of 327MW.
Akfen Renewables, or Akfen Yenilenebilir Enerji as it is known in Turkey, owns and operates renewable energy plants including wind, solar and hydropower. EBRD and International Finance Corporation (IFC) own minority stake 15.98% each, in the company.
Out of the $102m, $50m will be used for the wind farms, while $52m will be used for the construction of the solar projects.
Akfen Renewables’ wind farms include 99MW Ucpinar, 26MW Kocalar, 51MW Hasanoba and 66MW Denizli. Once these wind farms begin operations, they are expected to offset nearly 340,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions every year. The nine solar PV plants will be located at five places in Turkey and will have a total capacity of 85MW.
Akfen Renewables CEO Kayrıl Karabeyoğlu said: “With the projects that we will realise, we are taking firm steps towards our aim to reach a total installed capacity of 1GW in clean energy generation by 2020. We will continue to make new investments and potential acquisitions, especially in the wind power sector, in the forthcoming period.”
EBRD stated that its support for these projects is part of its efforts to help Turkey’s share of renewables in its energy mix and it is in-line with the renewable energy action developed by the country’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
The country aims to install 27GW of non-hydro renewable generation capacity by 2023, 20GW of which is expected to be wind and 5GW of solar.
EBRD Turkey managing director Arvid Tuerkner said: “Renewable energy remains an attractive investment in Turkey. Our new financing supports Akfen Holding’s ambition to become one of the largest producers of renewable energy in the country. It is yet another boost to the sector as Turkey is switching to domestically sourced power generation.”