The Danish Climate Investment Fund (DCIF) has signed a financing agreement with a local developer erecting a wind park in Staryi Sambir in the Lviv region in western Ukraine. DCIFs investment has made it possible to double the originally planned capacity from 10.3 MW to 21 MW.
The local partner is already operating a smaller wind park of three turbines in the area. The total production of renewable energy will be expanded considerably by the new wind park, which will comprise six wind turbines from the Danish company Vestas. The expected annual production is approx. 54 gigawatt-hours of electricity and the total CO2 reduction is estimated to be close to one million tons during its lifetime.
– We are very pleased to provide finance for the new wind park that will increase the production of renewable energy and make Ukraine less dependent on imported fossil fuel, says IFU’s CEO, Tommy Thomsen.
The wind park is DCIFs first investment in Ukraine, but IFU has as fund manager considerable experience from more than 50 investments in the country covering a wide variety of sectors like industry, agriculture and it services.
– We stand ready to invest in commercially viable projects in Ukraine that can enhance the economic development in the country and increase the cooperation among Danish and Ukrainian companies, says Tommy Thomsen.
Besides financing, IFU has via the Neighbourhood Energy Facility (NEF) and the Danida CSR Training Fund facilitated grants that has covered the due diligence cost related to the expansion of the wind park and training as well as supervision of construction to ensure that it will live up to international standards.
The project is an example of successful cooperation between a local developer, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), Vestas and DCIF/IFU.