The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is stepping up its efforts to support renewables in Greece by supporting Terna Energy with an €18 million (US$20 million) investment in the Greek company’s successful issuance of a seven-year €150 million (US$167 million) green bond.
The funds will finance additional investments in renewable energy projects in Greece. The projects will also contribute to the country’s target of increasing the share of renewable energy to 35% of its total energy consumption by 2030.
The investment is part of the EBRD Greek Corporate Bonds Framework, developed to extend the bank’s support for the local corporate bond market and to strengthen its long-term viability.
Terna Energy is the largest wind energy producer in Greece. It has 1,512 MW of renewable energy plants in operation or under construction — primarily wind farms — located in Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and the U.S.
Ernst & Young has verified that the bond meets the Climate Bonds Initiative’s classification as a certified climate bond.
The participation by EBRD in the bond issuance is expected to boost market confidence and contribute to building scale and critical mass for listed bond issuances. This can demonstrate the use of a financial instrument that is not yet widely used by Greek corporates, including the issuance of green bonds.
In June 2017, EBRD launched its original Greek Corporate Bonds Framework, which has leveraged €760 million (US$846.1 million) of listed bonds. A new framework, the €185 million (US$205.9 million) Greek Corporate Bonds Framework II, was approved in June 2018, leveraging an additional €350 million (US$389.7 million) to date.
EBRD started investing in Greece on a temporary basis in 2015 to support the country’s economic recovery.
This article first appeared in our sister title Smart Energy International.
