Major European project: Serbia gets 105 MW wind farm

The wind farm in Kovacica is one of the country's largest wind power projects: 38 turbines with a total capacity of 105 MW will be built for 189 million euros. The wind farm is expected to supply 65,000 households with clean energy next year. In addition, it will reduce Serbia's annual CO2 emissions by around 247,000 tonnes. This brings the country closer to its goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix to 27 percent by 2020. Up to now, Serbia's energy supply has mainly depended on coal and hydroelectric power stations, but these have now become outdated and urgently need to be renewed.

The project developer of the wind farm is Israeli company Enlight Renewable Energies, which has now secured financing support from various European banks. The EUR 142 million financing package will be provided by parallel loans from the Austrian Erste Group Bank AG (assisted by the German export credit insurer Euler-Hermes), Erste Bank Serbia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

"After its completion, Kovacica will be one of the largest wind farms in Serbia. This is already the second wind farm we are financing in this country. By providing financing of 95 million euros and a further 20 million euros for VAT, the first will support a project that will make a valuable contribution to Serbia's economy and environment, thus significantly improving the well-being of the Serbian people," explained Slavko Caric, CEO of Erste Bank Serbia.

Gilad Yavetz, CEO of Enlight Renewable Energy added: "The project is financed by professional, experienced partners. We look forward to continuing on this exciting path, which builds bridges between cultures and brings together people from Serbia, Israel, Austria, Germany and many other EU countries.".