EBRD to Finance First Wind Farm in Kosovo

Kosovo still relies heavily on coal, but tries to diversify its energy mix. The country in southeastern Europe will benefit from cleaner, more reliable energy from the first large-scale wind farm which is supported by the EBRD. The Bank has now announced to support the wind farm at Kitka in the east of Kosovo with an €18 million loan. The investment represents a milestone towards decarbonisation in a country where lack of reliable access to electricity remains one of the biggest barriers to development.

More renewable energy will help address both the challenge of power cuts and pollution caused by the lignite coal powering Kosovo’s two main electricity plants.

The EBRD financing follows a successful policy engagement with the authorities in Kosovo to refine the renewable offtake framework. These reforms were critical to unlock financing for renewable projects and are expected to attract significant investor interest to Kosovo. 

The project at Kitka has already begun operations, having been developed by the Turkish energy group Guris. It will raise annual national electricity generation by more than 1.4 per cent and reduce emissions by 81,000 tons of CO₂ a year.