IFC, Unicredit, FMO and GGF provide loans for Elicio’s Alibunar wind farm

International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will support the construction of Elicio’s Alibunar wind farm in Serbia with EUR 19,1 million loan. The IFC announced that the Unicredit Bank, Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and Green for Growth Fund (GGF) have agreed to provide loans worth EUR 40 million for the project.

The agreement on the IFC’s loan, which includes an A Loan of EUR 15.5 million and a C Loan of EUR 3.6 million, was signed on June 28 and syndication was closed on September 11.

The IFC said taht the Unicredit, FMO and GGF have agreed to provide a further EUR 40 million in B Loans to the project, which will help boost Serbia’s renewable energy production and improve the energy mix and electricity supply for homes and businesses in the northern province of Vojvodina.

The project will also help Serbia meet its obligations under the Energy Community Treaty to have 27 percent of energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020.

“The Alibunar wind farm is the largest wind farm project financed in Serbia up to date. IFC’s support for renewable energy is an important part of our work to address climate change and improve access to infrastructure,” said Wiebke Schloemer, IFC’s Head of Infrastructure in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

“The project also highlights IFC’s creating markets strategy, paving the way for other renewable energy projects looking for long-term financing from international or regional financial institutions. It is also a result of IFC’s work with the government of Serbia to improve relevant bylaws and the model power purchase agreement”, she said.

The World Bank Group announced a commitment to increase climate-related investments by 28 percent by 2020, roughly doubling IFC’s climate investments over the next five years.

The project’s wind turbine provider will be Senvion, a U.S. private equity-owned wind manufacturer that will also be the project’s operation and maintenance contractor.

Elicio, a subsidiary of Nethys Group, a Belgium-based energy and telecommunications group, is also building a wind farm on the location of Malibunar, near the future Alibunar wind farm.

The company has recently secured EUR 9.8 million loan from Unicredit Bank Serbia for Malibunar wind park. Unicredit Bank is following the project as sole lender utilizing the funding provided by GGF.