Austrian Erste Bank grants €47m for Croatian wind farm with Vestas wind turbines

Austrian Erste Bank and its local subsidiary Erste Bank Croatia have granted a €47m loan to French operator Akuo Energy and local renewable energy developer SN Holding/FEH for the €72m construction of a wind farm in Ogorje, 25 km north-east of Split.

The wind power plant is under development for an investment of €72m, and consist of 14 Vestas wind turbines for a 42 MW installed capacity, enough to supply 30,000 households, said Erste. The project is slated for completion at the end of next year. The 14-year funding for the project is 80% back-guaranteed by the Danish export credit agency Eksport Kredit Fonden.
“At Erste we are committed to supporting the infrastructure sector in Croatia and have a team of specialists on hand that understand the complex nature of the renewable energies industry,” said Erste’s Hinrich Fischer in a release. “Great cooperation of the project teams in Paris, Zagreb, Copenhagen and Vienna has resulted in securing a 14-year funding for this project.”
Investments in the renewable energy sector by property lenders and investors has growing steadily in recent years. One of the most recent was made by Germany’s largest public pension fund, Bavaria’s BVK, taking €60m of a €125m infrastructure loan from German savings’ bank fund manager Deka secured against wind farms.