The European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) said on Friday it is considering financing the construction,
commissioning and operation of the 158 MW Dolovo Cibuk I wind farm in
Serbia.
The wind farm, comprising 57 wind turbines, is being developed by
Continental Wind Partners (CWP) in the municipality of Kovin in the northern
Serbian province of Vojvodina, the EBRD said in a statement.
The loan has
passed concept review and is now pending final review by the EBRD board of
directors.
In July, CWP said it had obtained a new building permit for
Cibuk I after state-owned power grid operator EMS revoked the previous permit on
the grounds it had been issued in breach of the relevant regulations.
In
December, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said it was considering
lending a total of 70 million euro ($80 million) to CWP to help finance the
project whose total cost was seen at up to 280 million euro.
The proposed
IFC funding is pending review by its board on April 15.
Construction of
the project is expected to commence in the second half of 2015 and commercial
operations are expected to begin by the end of 2016, the IFC said. The proposed
wind park site covers an area of approximately 3,700 ha.
Serbia has no
installed wind power capacity.
CWP was established in 2006 as a wind
project developer focused on the Balkan countries with expertise in developing,
financing and constructing wind energy projects. CWP’s strategy is to develop
greenfield projects and subsequently monetize its participation in projects to
major utilities. The company does not own any operating assets.