The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced ON Monday that it will provide a 175 million loan to Greek utility group Public Power Corporation (PPC) to support its renewable-energy projects in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, the bank said in a press release.
This financing will enable the planning, construction and operation of approximately 400 megawatts of new wind and solar capacity, boosting the supply of clean energy and supporting decarbonisation efforts in south-eastern Europe.
The loan will benefit from support under the InvestEU programme, which provides a first loss guarantee backed by the European Union. This risk sharing arrangement will enable longer term financing on terms not readily available in the market and support the rollout of large scale renewable energy investments across multiple countries.
The project will increase renewable sources' share of total energy production in the three countries' power systems and is expected to generate around 760 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity annually. It is estimated that this will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 390,000 tonnes, equivalent to taking around 260,000 average passenger cars off the road each year.
As well as contributing to the mitigation of climate change, this will also help to improve energy security in the region.
The project also includes a grant of approximately 75,000 under InvestEU's social investment and skills mandate in order to support the development of skills linked to the energy transition.
As part of the project, PPC will establish an accredited training programme focused on battery energy storage systems, developed in partnership with the European Battery Academy. This programme, which is expected to train up to 150 engineers by 2028, will also include measures encouraging women to take on technical and leadership roles within the energy sector.
PPC is the leading integrated utility group in south-eastern Europe, with activities spanning the generation and distribution of electricity and the sale of advanced energy products and services. It operates primarily in Greece, North Macedonia and Romania, with a growing renewable-energy footprint in Bulgaria, Croatia and Italy.
The EBRD is a key investor in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, having invested more than 26 billion across the three countries to foster sustainable growth, competitiveness and the transition to a green economy.
