News | Headlines
EBRD supports Ukraine electricity company with €97.3 m
Ukraine Finance
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Ukrainian authorities have agreed the repurposing of the final €97.3 million of an existing loan to Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s electricity transmission company, to be used for for emergency liquidity, after repurposing a first tranche of €50 million of emergency liquidity in May. The aim is to keep the lights on in a country whose economy has been hard hit by Russia’s war on Ukraine. The EBRD has pledged to invest €1 billion this year in supporting the Ukrainian economy, with risks shared with donors and partners. A guarantee of up to half of the €97.3 million will be provided by a sovereign donor guarantor. The European union’s EFSD (European Fund for Sustainable Development), the financing arm of the EU External Investment Plan promoting investment in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood, provided a first loss guarantee for the earlier €50
million already disbursed to Ukrenergo in full. The EBRD originally agreed to lend €149 million to Ukrenergo in July 2019 to upgrade key transmission infrastructure required to maintain system stability and back-up synchronisation with European electricity networks, as well as help Ukraine align its legal framework and operational practices with the EU 3rd Energy Package.
The original project was undergoing procurement when the war began. That project will need to be reassessed and considered for financing by the Bank after the war. The war has triggered urgent liquidity needs that prompted Ukrenergo to seek the repurposing of undisbursed funds. The EBRD’s liquidity support will enable the stable functioning of the Ukrainian electricity grid, as well as nuclear generators and renewables, and maintain power supplies to industries and households. Since the war began, the company
UK to extend life of coal plants as ‘last resort’ facility
United Kingdom Coal power At the request of the UK’s Business and Energy ministry, BEIS, National Grid ESO has agreed contracts with Drax and EDF to extend the life of coal fired power plants this winter. The new winter contingency contracts will only be used as a last resort, and to ensure resilience and security of supply.
A total capacity of 1940 MW will be available from the coal fired units West Burton A (2 x 400 MW) and Drax, (2 x 570 MW). Negotiations
are continuing with a third generator for a fifth coal unit.
The upfront cost is expected to be in the region of £220m to £420m, the full cost being determined by whether a fifth unit is added and how much coal will be procured. These units will be available from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023, with costs recovered through the Balancing Services Use of System charge between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023. ●
Siemens Gamesa sells renewables assets to SSE
Europe Mergers & acquisitions Siemens Gamesa has announced the completion of its sale of South European renewables development assets to SSE for a total cash consideration of €613 million. €580 million corresponds to the purchase price and €33 million to the estimated working capital and net debt adjustments as of June 30, 2022. The latter remain subject to customary post-closing accounts review.
The sale includes a pipeline of onshore wind projects with a total capacity of 3.8 GW in various stages of development in France, Greece, Italy and Spain, with the possibility to develop up to 1.4
GW of co-located photovoltaic projects. A team of around 50 people from Siemens Gamesa, with strong sector experience in those countries, will be integrated in SSE as part of the agreement. As part of the transaction, Siemens Gamesa will have the opportunity to partner with SSE Renewables on the provision of turbines and associated long-term maintenance services for a portion of the wind farms installed and operated by SSE in the next few years coming from this sale. Jochen Eickholt, CEO of Siemens Gamesa, commented: “With this sale, Siemens Gamesa is optimising its portfolio of assets and maximising value.” ●
6 | September 2022 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
has faced substantial non-payments by its customers coupled with a 30 % reduction in electricity consumption and resulting revenue losses.
To address Ukraine’s most pressing needs, the EBRD is prioritising five areas within the country’s economy: trade finance, energy security, vital infrastructure, food security (covering provision of liquidity to farmers via banks for the spring sowing campaign as well as to agribusiness companies and food retailers), and the provision of liquidity to pharmaceutical companies.
The EBRD was swift to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February and pledged to stand by Ukraine. In early April, the EBRD’s Board of Governors voted to suspend indefinitely the access of Russian Federation and Belarus to EBRD finance and expertise, and the bank has closed its offices in Russia and Belarus. ●
RWE acquires 3 GW solar pipeline in Poland
Poland Renewable energy RWE has further strengthened its European renewables business by acquiring Alpha Solar, a Polish photovoltaic development company. With this acquisition RWE gains a solar project pipeline in Poland with a total capacity of approximately 3 GWac, and adds significantly to its existing global solar development pipeline of 10 GW. The purchase price has not been revealed.
The acquired pipeline is spread across Poland. The majority of projects are of utility-scale in various stages of development, ranging from early phase identified opportunities to ready-to-build projects. The development platform comes with a team of around 60 professionals with much experience in the solar sector who will work with RWE on delivering the existing pipeline of solar projects as well as developing new projects. RWE is pushing ahead with its portfolio expansion in onshore and offshore wind – it already operates onshore wind farms in Poland with a capacity of more than 420 MW. It is also preparing for the construction of its 350 MW Baltic II offshore wind farm and has applied for all 11 areas of the Baltic Sea selected by the Polish government for further offshore wind development. ●
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