Poland is accelerating its transition from fossil fuels with the construction of two new wind farms financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EBRD is providing a loan of PLN 117 million (26 million euro-equivalent) for a project in the north-east of the country with a total installed capacity of 51.4 MW: Mława (37.4 MW), located approximately 110 km northwest of Warsaw, and Grajweo (14 MW), 60 km southwest from Suwałki. The EBRD finance will be complemented by a parallel loan from DNB.

The wind farms will be built and operated by a joint venture between the Taaleri SolarWind Fund II, a fund managed by Helsinki based renewable fund manager and developer Taaleri Energia, and Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. Both wind farms will benefit from the Polish renewable energy support scheme (contract for difference) for a portion of their respective outputs following their successful bids in the December 2019 auction.

Poland is committed to reducing its dependency on generating energy from coal with harmful effects on the environment and human health. The new wind power plants will help reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 126,000 tonnes annually and help fulfil Poland’s contribution to the EU climate and energy targets for 2030, which include a cut of at least 40 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions.

Since the start of operations in 1991, the EBRD has invested 10.8 billion euro in 453 projects of all sectors of the economy. Supporting the country’s green transition with investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency remains one of the Bank’s priorities in Poland.