OREANDA-NEWS. July 13, 2015 KfW IPEX-Bank is supporting the first commercial wind power plant in Montenegro, to be located at Krnovo, near the town of Niksic in the western part of the country. Krnovo wind farm, to be operated by Akuo Energy, is the first wholly private wind farm in the country. It will use 26 turbines of the manufacturer General Electric.

KfW IPEX-Bank is extending an Euler-Hermes covered loan totaling up to €48,5 million to Krnovo Green Energy d.o.o, the subsidiary of Akuo Energy, the French producer of renewable energy, that will build and operate the 72MW plant. In parallel EBRD is providing a loan of the same amount.

This is the first large-scale investment in Montenegro’s electricity generation capacity since the 1980s. Once constructed and operational the wind farm will represent 6 per cent of total electricity production in Montenegro.

The landmark project for Montenegro’s energy sector is expected to result in CO2 emission reductions of more than 180,000 TCO2 annually, equivalent to removing 11,000 cars from the roads.

"Montenegro is a country that lies at the crossroads of Europe, has considerable renewable resources and has decided to make even greater use of these resources to have production of green electricity- a strategic priority for its development. We welcome this proactive policy and are delighted to have financed the country’s very first wind farm with the help of EBRD, KfW IPEX-Bank, and Proparco", says Eric Scotto, Akuo Energy’s cofounder and CEO.

This first wind farm in the country will set the benchmark in terms of developing, building and operating a greenfield renewable project.

Financing of renewable projects is part of KfW IPEX-Bank’s core business.