The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to provide an additional €500 million in financing for sustainable energy in Turkey, including hydropower projects.
The funding, announced during a high-level conference organised by the EBRD in Istanbul yesterday, will mean up to €1.5 billion will be provided to Turkish banks in the form of loans and capital market instruments for on-lending to private sector companies under the EBRD's Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF).
The financing - supported by the European Union and the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources - will benefit renewable energy and resource efficiency projects in Turkey including solar, hydropower, wind, geothermal, waste-to-energy and energy efficiency as well as water saving and waste minimisation projects.
Akbank is the first bank to join this extension of the programme with US$ 110 million in financing in addition to US$ 100 million received in 2011. So far, Akbank has successfully allocated these funds to six projects, ranging from industrial energy efficiency measures to hydropower and waste-to-energy projects.
