Climate Investment Funds board backs $1 bln Turkey grid upgrade plan

Multilateral lender Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has agreed to back a $1 billion plan to upgrade Turkey's electricity grid so it can handle more renewable energy by providing an initial investment to the project, it said on Thursday.

The CIF board agreed a $70 million investment from its Renewable Energy Integration (REI) investment platform with the aim of drawing in a further $790 million to expand and improve transmission infrastructure and $330 million for technology.

Ultimately, the plan, developed with the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and World Bank, is to attract more than 15 times CIF's contribution from other investors.

Turkey's solar and wind resources would allow it to complete "one of the most ambitious clean energy scale-ups in the world," CIF Chief Executive Tariye Gbadegesin said in a statement.

"Our support for...