EBRD providing loan-and-grant financing for 5 PV plants in Turkey

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said that it is providing a 10-year 10 million euro ($11.3 million) loan to finance the construction of five grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) plants with a total installed capacity of 27 MW in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

The loan will be accompanied by a 7 million euro grant from the EBRD's Shareholder Special Fund in a move to support the Gaziantep municipality whose population has seen rapid growth, in part due to an inflow of refugees from Syria, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The solar PV plants will create significant savings in electricity bills, relieving pressure on the city’s budget. The project will also help avoid carbon emissions and intense use of water for electricity generation, particularly important in Turkey’s water-scarce southeast," the EBRD noted.

The financing will be provided as part of a cooperation between the EBRD and Gaziantep under the bank’s flagship urban sustainability programme Green Cities which the municipality joined last month.

As part of its cooperation with the EBRD, Gaziantep will also devise a Green City Action Plan, the backbone of the Green Cities programme. It is a step-by-step investment plan covering green infrastructure, including solid waste, water, wastewater, street lighting, energy supply and transport.

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