Investment consortium led by the EBRD provides €315M to renewable energy company, Renalfa
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has led a €315 million financing deal for Renalfa IPP, a Vienna-based independent power producer, to accelerate the green energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe[1][2][5]. This investment will support a €1.2 billion program to develop renewable energy assets and battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and North Macedonia.
The financing will enable Renalfa to deploy approximately 1.6 GW of renewable generation capacity along with 3.3 GWh of co-located BESS. This infrastructure will produce about 2.3 terawatt hours (TWh) of green electricity annually, enough to power around 920,000 households[1][2][5]. The integration of BESS is crucial for addressing intermittency issues inherent in renewable generation, thus improving grid stability and reliability.
The EBRD has a long-standing relationship with Renalfa, a joint venture between Renalfa Solarpro Group and French infrastructure fund manager RGreen Invest. The funding structure includes an A/B loan syndication where the EBRD provided €100 million directly and mobilized an additional €100 million from commercial banks, supported by InvestEU’s first loss guarantee[1]. This is the first use of such a guarantee by the EBRD in an A/B loan, helping to reduce risks related to merchant renewable power generation and innovative storage technologies, thereby encouraging private sector participation.
In addition to the financial support, Renalfa will partner with local universities and technical colleges to develop a "training of the trainers component" to ensure skills can be passed on and are accessible to the wider population[3]. The training program will be a mixture of technical and non-technical training by an expert training provider related to renewable energy sources and the BESS sector. The bank will support the development of this program for both existing staff and future professionals in the region, and the training program will result in an accredited certification.
Other lenders in the consortium include the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, OTP Bank, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, UniCredit, and Kommunalkredit. The integration of battery energy storage systems will help overcome intermittency challenges in renewable energy generation and improve grid stability, making a significant impact by fostering renewable energy capacity expansion, enhancing energy security and grid stability in target countries, and demonstrating innovative financing mechanisms to de-risk green infrastructure investments in the region[1][2][3][5].
References: [1] European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. (2022). Renalfa IPP secures €315 million financing for renewable energy and battery storage projects in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and North Macedonia. Retrieved from https://www.ebrd.com/news/2022/renalfa-ipp-secures-315-million-financing-for-renewable-energy-and-battery-storage-projects-in-bulgaria-hungary-romania-and-north-macedonia.html
[2] European Commission. (2022). InvestEU mobilises €315 million for clean energy investments in Central and Eastern Europe. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/investment-and-funding/funding-programmes/investeu/investeu-mobilises-315-million-clean-energy-investments-central-and-eastern-europe_en
[3] Renalfa. (2022). Renalfa IPP secures €315m in holdco financing for renewable energy and battery storage projects in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and North Macedonia. Retrieved from https://www.renalfa.com/news/renalfa-ipp-secures-315m-in-holdco-financing-for-renewable-energy-and-battery-storage-projects-in-bulgaria-hungary-romania-and-north-macedonia
[5] InvestEU. (2022). InvestEU mobilises €315 million for clean energy investments in Central and Eastern Europe. Retrieved from https://www.invest-eu.eu/content/investeu-mobilises-315-million-clean-energy-investments-central-and-eastern-europe-1
- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has led a significant financing deal worth €315 million for Renalfa IPP, an independent power producer based in Vienna, to quicken the green energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe.
- This investment will support a €1.2 billion program to develop renewable energy assets and battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and North Macedonia.
- The financing will empower Renalfa to deploy approximately 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generation capacity alongside 3.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of co-located BESS.
- This infrastructure will generate around 2.3 terawatt hours (TWh) of green electricity annually, enough to power nearly 920,000 households.
- The integration of BESS is essential for addressing intermittency issues in renewable energy generation, thereby improving grid stability and reliability.
- The EBRD has collaborated with Renalfa, a joint venture between Renalfa Solarpro Group and French infrastructure fund manager RGreen Invest, for a long time.
- As part of the funding structure, the EBRD provided €100 million directly and mobilized an additional €100 million from commercial banks, with the support of InvestEU’s first loss guarantee.
- Renalfa will partner with local universities and technical colleges to establish a "training of the trainers component," which aims to make skills related to renewable energy sources and the BESS sector accessible to a wider population, through a mixture of technical and non-technical training by an expert provider.
