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  EBRD lends EUR 50 million to build and operate a 237 MWp solar plant in Bulgaria
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  Tenevo is the first EBRD project in Bulgaria supported by InvestEU guarantee
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  The project supports Bulgaria’s green transition, with CO2 savings of 250,000 tons per year

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) lends up to EUR 50 million to Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD to build and operate a solar power plant in south-eastern Bulgaria. The Tenevo facility is expected to generate more than 300 GWh of electricity per year and save 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. A parallel financing facility of EUR 53 million will be provided by Raiffeisen Bank International, bringing the total financing package to EUR 103 million.

The project will be supported by first loss risk coverage used under EBRD’s InvestEU Framework for Sustainable Transition, which aims to promote sustainable investments and convergence to EU standards, and will contribute to Bulgaria’s green energy transition. This is the first use of the InvestEU guarantee by the EBRD in Bulgaria.

The Tenevo plant will add 238 MW of solar generation capacity to the Bulgarian national energy system, with a long-term plan to add 250 MW of behind-the-meter energy storage capacity. This is an important project to move towards Bulgaria’s ambitious goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and reduce dependence on coal generation, which still dominates the power system.

The project will be the first renewable energy plant of over 100 MW that will sell all its production on the market without a support system or a PPA in Bulgaria. The project is designated Gender SMART as the sponsors and the company have committed to sign the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles to promote gender equality in the male-dominated energy sector in Bulgaria.

It will also strengthen the presence of the private sector in the renewable energy sector in Bulgaria.

Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD is a joint stock company formed in Bulgaria to build and operate this plant. It is equally owned by two co-owners. One is Renalfa IPP, an Austrian joint venture between Renalfa Solarpro Group, a Vienna-based clean energy and e-mobility company, and RGreen Invest, a French renewable infrastructure fund. The other is Eurowind Energy, a Danish renewable energy developer and independent power producer.

“We are very pleased to finance this significant merchant solar project, which highlights the Bank’s continued support for Bulgaria’s green transition, in today’s context of regional energy security concerns in light of Russia’s war on Ukraine, as well as supporting Bulgaria’s ambitious renewable energy goals and carbon dioxide emissions, says Grzegorz Zielinski, head of Energy Europe in the EBRD’s Sustainable Infrastructure Group.

“We are delighted to partner with the EBRD and Raiffeisen Bank International in this ground-breaking project, which reflects our shared vision for a more sustainable future in Bulgaria. This collaboration represents an important landmark for renewable energy investment in the region, and we look forward to to work together to realize our plans, says Kalina Pelovska, Managing Director of Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD.

Renewable energy is expected to play a crucial role in decarbonising Bulgaria’s economy. The country aims for renewable energy to make up 34.7 percent of its electricity consumption by 2030, more than doubling the 2020 target of 16 percent.

This rising ambition is driving renewed interest in the sector, with around 1.3 GW of additional solar capacity built over the past two years. In addition, Bulgaria’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions took an important step forward this month with the completion of the country’s first tender for renewable energy with co-located battery energy storage systems, which awarded grants to over 3 GW of new solar projects. This is part of Bulgaria’s recovery and resilience plan, which is also supported by the EBRD, and aims to commission at least another 3.5 GW of renewable capacity by 2026.

The EBRD is a leading implementing partner of the EU’s InvestEU programme, which supports sustainable investment, innovation and job creation in the European Union. The aim is to trigger more than EUR 372 billion in additional investment between 2021 and 2027. Between 2022 and 2027, InvestEU guarantees worth EUR 635 million will be used by the EBRD to finance investments of up to EUR 2.7 billion in eligible sectors.

Through the program, the EBRD supports EU member states where the bank invests, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechi.a, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romaniathe Slovakia and Slovenia.

The EBRD, a leader in climate finance, is a major institutional investor in Bulgaria. To date, it has financed 297 projects in the country for over 4.5 billion euros.