Raiffeisenbank, EBRD Join Efforts on Sustainable Energy in Bulgaria

The EBRD, owned by 61 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, was created in 1991 to invest in former communist countries to help them transform their economies. File photo

The Bulgarian branch of the Austrian Raiffeisenbank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a second line of credit under a program for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The program BEERECL will allow Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) to expand financing for sustainable energy investment by private companies in Bulgaria.

The EBRD loan of EUR 7.5 million will be on-lent by Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) to local enterprises.

Since 2002, Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) has participated in five EBRD credit lines for the financing of Bulgarian business and retail sectors, including sustainable energy financing under BEERECL and the Residential Energy Efficiency Credit Line frameworks.

Under the first BEERECL credit line of EUR 20 million, Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) financed the completion of 25 energy efficiency and renewable projects.

“This new BEERECL loan allows for a continuation of this strong cooperation in lending to companies for energy efficiency purposes and provides further support to local businesses,” EBRD said in an official statement.

Eligible energy efficiency projects will be designed to reduce energy consumption through investments, among others, to rehabilitate or replace boilers, modernize energy infrastructure, heat and steam recovery, process optimization and installation of enhanced controls and automation systems.

These could include investments in biomass, geothermal and biogas installations, as well as small wind turbines and solar thermal and hydro power projects.

The program is supported by technical assistance and a grant for final beneficiaries financed by the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund.

The grant is available for up to 15% of the principal amount of the loans financed under BEERECL and depends on the estimated energy savings in the case of energy efficiency projects and the capacity installed for renewable energy projects.

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