26June - EBRD

Image: EBRD lends £16m loan for 32.4 MW Kitka wind farm in eastern Kosovo. Photo: Courtesy of The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced the £16m loan to support the wind farm at Kitka in the east of Kosovo.

Kosovo relies for its energy on coal, and is expected to be benefited from cleaner, more reliable energy from the wind farm supported by the EBRD’s new investment.

Kitka wind farm marks the first large-scale wind farm in Kosovo

Kosovo has two main electricity plants powered by coal and more renewable energy will help address the challenge of power cuts and pollution caused by the lignite coal powered power plants.

EBRD said that its investment represents a helps decarbonisation in a country where lack of access to electricity is one of the biggest barriers to development.

In addition, the bank has entered into a successful policy engagement with the authorities in Kosovo to refine the renewable offtake framework, prior to the present financing.

Kosovo’s renewable energy reforms, which are critical in unlocking the financing for renewable projects, are expected to attract significant investor interest to Kosovo.

The Turkish energy group Guris has developed the wind farm at Kitka, which has already started operations.

The project is expected to increase the annual national electricity generation by more than 1.4% and reduce emissions by 81,000 tons of CO2 per annum.

Under its Regional Energy Efficiency Programme for the Western Balkans, the EU has provided the technical cooperation support for the investment project , supporting the technical due diligence.

The bank said that the current Energy Strategy of Kosovo sets an ambitious target of introducing approximately 400MW of renewable projects by 2026.

In addition, the renewable energy capacity of Kosovo, apart from Kitka totals around 70MW, generated from almost very small hydropower plants.

EBRD aims to make 40% of its annual investments in the green economy by 2020, and has invested £296m in 64 projects in Kosovo.