BCR lends EUR 17 mln to Espe for 9.8 MW hydro plant in Romania

Newsroom 25/07/2012 | 14:42

Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), majority owned by Austrian Erste Bank, lent EUR 17 million to Italian Espe Energia for the construction of a small hydro-power plant with an installed capacity of 9.88 MW on the Sapanta river, Maramures County, in northern Romania.

Espe will invest EUR 23 million in the plant that will generate electricity for more than 10,000 families.

“The portfolio of renewable energy projects approved by BCR amounts to more than 100 MW, with the largest share in wind and small-hydro,” said Ioana Gheorghiade, executive director project finance at BCR.

The Espe CEO, Titian Meneghetti, said that Romania’s legislation on power generation from renewable sources makes it an “excellent investment opportunity”.

The Romanian legislation incentivizes renewable energy producers through a green certificate system.

Every MW generated and delivered from old small-hydro power plants is granted one green certificate. Technologically upgraded plants get two certificates while new ones get three.

Green certificates are currently traded on the market at the maximum price of EUR 55.