OREANDA-NEWS. June 10, 2013. The EBRD is organising a financing facility of up to EUR 4.2 million to construct and put into operation a 1.5MW biogas plant at the privately owned agribusiness company Ecoprod, located in the Donetsk region, in eastern Ukraine.

The investment is a continuation of the Bank’s drive to promote renewable energy projects in Ukraine, which still relies heavily on imported fuel while its own energy-generating capacities are ageing and highly polluting. The financing package arranged by the Bank will include a seven-year EBRD loan of EUR 3.1 million and a 15-year loan of EUR 1.1 million from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

Ecoprod will develop, construct and operate a biogas plant, which will produce 5.8 million cubic metres of biogas a year to be used for the generation of 9,900 MW of electricity. It will be one of the first biogas plants in the country to sell generated electricity to the grid.

This project is part of the Ukraine Sustainable Energy Lending Facility (USELF) – an investment facility of EUR 70 million (EUR 50 million from the EBRD and EUR 20 million from the CTF) designed to provide finance to private local enterprises wishing to invest in renewable energy projects in Ukraine. Technical assistance on projects preparation, regulatory framework development and strategic environmental review is funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

The CTF was established in 2008 to provide middle-income countries with support to adopt renewable and energy efficiency technologies that have high potential for minimising long-term greenhouse gas emissions. The CTF already finances programmes in 15 countries and one region, and is the largest multilateral climate finance instrument in operation.