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AVELLUM advises EBRD and BSTDB on financing of one of largest solar projects in Ukraine
AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank ("BSTDB") in connection with senior secured loans in the total amount of up to EUR36.3 million to Rengy Bioenergo LLC (“Loans”).
The Loans will be used to construct and put into operation 3 solar power plants in Mykolaiv region with a total installed capacity of 47 MW. Once in operation, the plants will improve Ukraine’s energy supply mix and contribute to the country’s energy security, as well as to the objective of bringing the share of renewables in total electricity consumption to 25 per cent by 2035.
This is the EBRD’s first project under the recently approved Ukraine Sustainable Energy Lending Facility III (“USELF III”) framework. The USELF III program, worth EUR250 million, follows two preceding sustainable-energy lending programs co-financed by the EBRD and the Clean Technology Fund.
Glib Bondar, AVELLUM’s senior partner, commented on the transaction: “We are honoured to have been given the opportunity to support our clients on this challenging deal from a kick-off meeting to successful financial closing. It is a testament of our ability to offer our clients the effective multidisciplinary projects team with the right mix of skills for transactions of such scale and complexity.”
The EBRD is the largest international investor in Ukraine, which has provided almost EUR13.1 billion to fund approximately 418 projects since 1993. The EBRD supports the development of renewable energy in Ukraine under USELF programs since 2009, and funded renewable energy projects with a total capacity of over 150 MW.
BSTDB’s cumulative portfolio in the Black Sea region includes 365 approved operations in the key sectors of infrastructure, energy, transport, manufacturing, telecommunications, finance, and other areas, totalling about EUR5 billion.
The AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar and counsel Maria Tsabal, with support from partner Vadim Medvedev, counsel Maksym Maksymenko, senior associate Tetyana Mykhailenko, associates Dmytro Symbiryov, Daryna Mykhailenko, Anna Mykhalova, and Anna Kalabska.