Serbian state-owned power company to renovate 15 hydropower plants, build seven new ones on existing dams with €45M EBRD loan; projects combined total 28 MW

Tracy McDonald

LONDON , December 20, 2011 (press release) – €45 million to refurbish and build new, small hydropower plants

The EBRD is promoting green energy in Serbia with a €45 million sovereign-guaranteed loan to Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), the state-owned power company, to renovate existing and build new, small hydropower plants.

Increasing the production of renewable energy is one of Serbia’s strategic priorities, in line with the objectives of the European Union.

The proceeds of the EBRD loan will be used to refurbish 15 small hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 18 MW and to build seven new ones on existing dams. The new, small hydropower plants will have a combined capacity of 13 MW.

The project will help EPS to modernise and extend the lifetime of the company’s existing small hydropower plants and to increase the overall generation of renewable energy. It is estimated that this investment will result in CO2 savings of 60,000 tonnes a year.

In addition, EPS has created a subsidiary that will manage and operate investments in renewable energy. This new subsidiary, EPS Renewables, will focus on developing new renewable energy generating capacity.

“Investing in green energy generation is one of the EBRD’s key priorities and the Bank is firmly committed to supporting Serbia and the region in expanding the production of renewable energy. EPS is a long-term partner for the EBRD, and we are very pleased to be strengthening our cooperation with this loan for small hydropower plants,” said Nandita Parshad, the EBRD’s Director for Power and Energy.

“This project will improve the operational performance of the existing small hydropower plants as well as finance the construction of new, small hydropower plants on existing dams. It will help Serbia to achieve its renewable energy goals, and marks an important step in the further development of Serbia’s electric power industry,” said Dragomir Markovic, EPS’s General Manager.

Since the beginning of its operations in Serbia, the EBRD has committed around €2.8 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, with a total value of some €6 billion.

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