SeeNews Renewables
Wind farm in Egypt. Author: Gigi Ibrahim. License: Creative Commons, Attribution 2.0 Generic
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and two partners will offer USD 250 million (EUR 227.6m) in debt and equity funding for renewables projects by private firm in Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan.
The bank announced the financing programme on Tuesday, saying the first project to be backed by it would most likely be the 120-MW Khalladi wind farm near Tangiers in Morocco. The signing of a financing deal for the latter is expected in the near future.
“For the first time in [the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED)] region the private sector is now able to produce and sell clean renewable energy on a commercial basis competing head to head with gas and oil-fired generation,” said EBRD’s Nandita Parshad. The bank expects that the USD-250-million programme will support several new business models, from direct agreements between large renewable energy developers and corporate consumers, such as cement firms and hotel groups, to small scale generation in communities.
In Tunisia, direct sales to state-owned single buyer STEG are also eligible for financing.
The Climate Investment Funds’ Clean Technology Fund (CTF) will provide up to USD 35 million for the programme and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will bring up to a further USD 15 million, the EBRD noted. The Union for Mediterranean will act as a policy dialogue partner.
