Bogoslovec, first private wind farm in North Macedonia, secures loan for construction

The 36 MW Bogoslovec wind farm project, owned by local company BNB Kompani and Green for Growth Fund (GGF), has reached a financial close which includes EUR 51 million in financing by Erste Group and local lenders, and EUR 10 million by OeEB. This is the first ever equity investment of the Green for Growth Fund.

Bogoslovec is set to be the second wind farm in the country. The first was the Bogdanci project, commissioned in 2015 by state-owned utility Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM).

A financing package totaling EUR 51 million has been arranged for Bogoslovec, Vienna-based Erste Group said.

Erste Group arranged and structured the transaction

Acting as the sole mandated lead arranger, major senior lender and agent, Erste Group arranged and structured the transaction and invited local banks, including Sparkasse Bank Makedonija, to be among the institutions providing financing with a 17-year tenor.

The debt package for Bogoslovec also includes a junior debt tranche of EUR 10 million from Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB), the development bank of Austria, Erste said.

It was the first-ever equity investment of the Green for Growth Fund, which is a minority owner of the wind farm

BNB Kompani, which operates five small hydropower plants, owns a 65% share in the Bogoslovec project. It has developed it up to the permitting stage and teamed up with 35% minority investor Green for Growth Fund (GGF), an impact investment fund advised by Finance in Motion.

GGF said has invested EUR 3.5 million in Thor Impex for its first-ever equity investment, to partially fund the construction and operations of the 36 MW wind farm.

The project is expected to generate enough green electricity to supply over 20,000 households, resulting in 80,000 tons of avoided CO₂ emissions annually.

GGF is helping North Macedonia reach a 50% share of renewable energy in electricity production by 2024

The Bogoslovec project is directly aligned with the GGF’s sustainable investment objective, while simultaneously supporting the country’s broader climate transitions and renewable energy targets. In fact, the project will directly contribute to the implementation of North Macedonia’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan to reach a 50% share of renewable energy in electricity production by 2024, the GGF said.

The GGF is one of the first specialized vehicles to invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and resource efficiency measures in its target regions using a blended finance approach that leverages public capital to mobilize private investments.

Wind farm is expected to be finished by 2023

Prague-based Curo Energy acts as the project’s financial advisor and serves as an experienced construction and operations manager.

In addition, Curo said it negotiated and secured the construction arrangements with both Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and Croatian contractor ING-Grad, adding that project company Thor Impex was advised on legal matters by CMS, led by Pavel Srb, and that NJD Advisory was advising on environmental and social matters.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will deliver and install the wind turbines.

The Bogoslovec wind farm will be built 80 kilometers southeast of Skopje near the village of Bogoslovec. The project is scheduled to be completed in early 2023.

According to Erste Group, Bogoslovec is among the last wind park installations in North Macedonia that will sell its power at a feed-in tariff under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the state market operator. North Macedonia has in the meantime introduced competitive auctions for market premiums.