Nala Renewables, a global power and renewable energy investment platform and independent power producer (IPP), signed a financing package for the EUR 214 million acquisition and construction of a 99.2 MW onshore wind project. Banca Comercială Română SA and Erste Group AG will finance the project costs and provide ancillary facilities as sole lenders, BCR making available also the VAT facility and acting as a facility agent, security agent and account bank.
The wind farm was purchased from OX2, a leading company in the development and construction of renewable energy solutions active across Europe and Australia. This acquisition is the third transaction executed by Nala during Q2 2024 in the CEE region, and the facility was arranged by Banca Comercială Română and Erste Group Bank AG, both acting as financing banks and hedge providers.
The financial institutions were assisted by the international law firm Clifford Chance, through their teams in Romania and Germany.
“BCR plays an active role in promoting the transition to a green economy, and we are recognized as the main banking partner of renewable energy sources in Romania. Our partnership with Nala Renewables, alongside our involvement in this M&A shows our expertise in energy funding structures, and the firm commitment on supporting energy security across CEE region. Moreover, we advocate for integrating renewable energy to build a sustainable future, highlighting Romania’s role as a hub of climate and energy diversity,” said Bogdan Cernescu, Head of Corporate Banking BCR.
“Erste Group is committed to supporting the transition to renewable energy sources, with this project being a major step towards this goal. We are confident that this project will be a very successful investment for the energy transition in Romania, as well as for our partners and our group,” added Ingo Bleier, Chief Corporates and Markets Officer of Erste Group.
The project is located in eastern-Romania and involves an investment of EUR 214 million. The construction of the wind farm is expected to start in Q3 2024 and will be commissioned in first half of 2026, including of 16 Vestas V162-6.2 MW wind turbines. This project is expected to support Nala’s contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals by generating around 312 GWh of clean energy per year, representing the energy use of around 51,000 households, as well as saving approximately 150,000 tonnes of CO2- equivalent emissions per year.