Serbia gets its first commercial PPA – financing secured for Krivača wind farm

Serbia’s MK Group and Slovenia’s ALFI Green Energy Fund have secured EUR 155 million for the Krivača wind farm project from a consortium of lenders led by Erste Group. It will be the first renewable energy project in Serbia with a commercial power purchase agreement (PPA).

MK Group and ALFI Green Energy Fund took over the construction of the Krivača wind farm in June last year from Ivicom. The construction in the municipality of Golubac in eastern Serbia began at the end of last year and the wind farm is expected to be online at the end of the year, the companies said in the update.

Erste Group said that as the main creditor and agent, it initiated and structured the transaction and invited other banks to join the lender consortium in the financing of the renewable energy project.

The PPA was signed with Swiss renewables producer and trader Axpo

Krivača is the first renewable energy project in the country with a commercial power purchase agreement (PPA), which was concluded with Swiss renewables producer and trader Axpo.

Axpo said the agreement is for ten years.

Nordex Group from Germany will supply the wind turbines, in its first deal in Serbia.

Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad, Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisen bank a.d. Beograd, NLB d.d. and NLB Komercijalna banka a.d. Beograd, and OeEB – the Development Bank of Austria are participating in the package, Erste Group said.

With a capacity of 105.6 MW and 22 wind turbines, Krivača will be producing 310 GWh of green electricity annually. It is equivalent to the electricity needs of 75,000 households, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 115,000 tons per year.

Major milestone for Serbia’s energy landscape

“The financing of the Krivača wind park marks a major milestone for Serbia’s energy landscape and we are hopeful that more such landmark steps will follow to expand the role of renewable energy in Southeastern Europe,” said Wolfgang Hargassner, Head of Corporate Finance in Erste Group.

Franceschino: We are seeing an increasing number of companies seeking to purchase electricity from renewables in the long term

According to Domenico Franceschino, Axpo’s Head of Origination for West and East Europe, the company is pleased to facilitate yet another landmark agreement that advances the energy transition and supports the fight against climate change.

“While this is the first renewable PPA in Serbia, we are seeing an increasing number of companies seeking to purchase long-term electricity from renewable energy sources as part of their sustainability strategies,” Franceschino added.

Janković: MK Group has projects with an planned capacity of 1 GW in total

Mihailo Janković, CEO of MK Group, said the company is working on the development of wind energy projects with a total capacity of over 320 MW, as well as solar energy with a capacity of 660 MW. The investments are worth close to EUR 1 billion, he added and pointed out that they are planned to be executed within five years.

They will be implemented through joint ventures and solo investments, he stressed.

Suvad Bajrić, Managing Director of ALFI Renewables, said the fund has ambitious plans for the development and construction of new wind farms and solar power plants throughout Southeast Europe.