EBRD energy investments in Turkey top €1.5 billion

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is continuing to support the efforts of Turkish businesses to become more energy efficient, through a new €50 million financing package to Türkiye İşBankası (İşBank).

The loan will provide İşBank with long-term financing for sustainable energy investments under the EBRD’s Mid-Size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility.

These investments will include mid-sized renewable energy and waste-to-energy projects, as well as energy efficiency upgrades.

Mike Davey, the EBRD Director for Turkey, said: “The Turkish renewables market has the potential for significant expansion, as reflected in the Government’s 2023 sustainable energy targets. EBRD financing of renewables and energy efficiency not only helps to fight climate change, but it also helps to bring private investment to the market. This is our third financing package to İşBank for on-lending to renewables and energy efficiency projects, with a total of €140m provided for those purposes to date.”

Yılmaz Ertürk, the Deputy Chief Executive of İşbank, said: “As we conclude another successful deal with the EBRD, we are pleased to say that with these funds İşbank continues to increase its support for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.”

Turkey relies heavily on coal and imported fossil fuels to support its energy needs. Reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels is necessary to support sustainable economic development, a goal that is reflected in the EBRD’s strategy for Turkey.

The financing facility to İşBank is supported by a technical cooperation programme to which the European Union, in collaboration with the Turkish Treasury, has contributed more than €4 million in grant financing. This programme support will assist İşBank with technical, financial and environmental screening of sub-projects related to the renewables, waste-to-energy and energy efficiency which are to be financed under this facility.

To date, the EBRD has invested more than €3 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy. Around half of this funding has been directed towards investments in sustainable energy, in particular, renewable energy generation and energy efficiency improvements.