EBRD Finances Bulgaria’s Largest Merchant Solar Plant to Boost Green Energy

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a loan of up to 50 million euros for Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD to build and operate a solar photovoltaic plant in southeastern Bulgaria. The project will produce over 300 GWh of electricity annually and help reduce carbon emissions by 250,000 tonnes per year. The total financing package for the project amounts to 103 million euros, with 53 million coming from Raiffeisen Bank International.

This project, which is the first EBRD initiative in Bulgaria supported by the InvestEU guarantee, will significantly contribute to Bulgaria's green transition. It is also expected to help the country meet its ambitious renewable energy and decarbonization goals. With a long-term plan to add energy storage capacity, the Tenevo plant will increase Bulgaria's solar generation capacity by 238 MW, aligning with the nation's target to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Tenevo solar plant will be the first renewable energy facility in Bulgaria with a capacity exceeding 100 MW to operate entirely in the market without relying on a support scheme or corporate power purchase agreements. It is designed as a Gender SMART project, with a commitment to promote gender equality in Bulgaria's predominantly male-dominated energy sector.

Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD is a joint venture between Renalfa Solarpro Group, a Vienna-based clean energy company, and RGreen Invest, a French renewables infrastructure fund, along with Eurowind Energy, a Danish renewable energy developer. Both partners are equally invested in the project.

This initiative is particularly significant given the ongoing regional energy security concerns arising from the war in Ukraine. Grzegorz Zielinski, Head...