Kernel Holding SA has secured a $45-million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for an energy storage-supported solar farm with a capacity of 106 megawatts in southern Ukraine.
To be connected to the national grid, the facility will produce 141 gigawatt hours a year and avoid about 82,500 metric tons per annum of carbon dioxide emissions, Kernel, a Luxembourg-registered agribusiness operating in Ukraine, said in a press release.
The Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF), part of the European Union's Ukraine Facility, is guaranteeing the funding from the EU-backed EBRD. The Ukraine Facility aims to mobilize up to EUR 50 billion ($58.72 billion) – EUR 33 billion in loans and EUR 17 billion in grants – from 2024 to 2027, according to the European Council, which gave the final approval for the facility February 28, 2024. The UIF targets up to EUR 40 billion of investments for recovery, reconstruction and modernization, according to the implementing agency, the European Commission.
"Ukraine currently faces a significant shortage of generation capacity, as large-scale facilities remain vulnerable to attacks", Kernel chief executive Yevgen Osypov said in an online statement. "Our response is to expand distributed generation, particularly solar and wind energy, as well as energy storage solutions".
Kernel aims to install up to 600 MW of renewables capacity, with expected investments of around $400 million.
It expects the EBRD-backed solar plus battery storage project to cost about $86 million. Kernel said it was in talks with other international lenders.
The EBRD said separately the project "will add significant new decentralized generation capacity in one of Ukraine's most energy-deficient regions, helping to stabilize the electricity system, reduce the frequency of outages and support economic activity".
"Alongside its energy security impact, the investment will also contribute to improving the livelihoods of more than 10,000 Kernel employees, many of whom are demobilized veterans", the London-based bank added. "Kernel will work with the EBRD to implement workplace accessibility measures for staff affected by war-related injuries and disabilities, as well as to expand training opportunities for young people by establishing modern engineering and energy laboratories at vocational education institutions".
"The EBRD is Ukraine’s largest institutional investor, having substantially increased its investment in the country since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022", the bank said. "Since the start of the war, the Bank has deployed billions of euros to support the real economy, with a focus on energy security, private-sector resilience and critical infrastructure".
Kernel said the loan is its first from the EBRD during the Russia-Ukraine war, which the Kremlin launched February 2022.
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