BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 16
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Realizing the importance of developing the sector of renewable energy sources, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan greatly increases the share of lending to the projects in this sphere and pays close attention to them, the bank told Trend on March 15.
The bank stressed that renewable energy sources are the engine of the global economic recovery after COVID-19.
"The coronavirus pandemic that broke out in 2020 contributed to the global de-globalization, a decrease in industrial activity, and the development of the coronavirus crisis, which shocked the economies of several countries and became a real threat to the financial markets,” the bank said. “The experts stress that today all kinds of promotion of renewable energy sources can become a powerful engine for restoring the sustainable economy, creating new, safe jobs and investing in the future prosperity of mankind.”
The bank said that the record solar and wind power capacities were commissioned around the world - a total of more than 250 GW in 2020.
"The experts have no doubt that the annual volume of investments in the sector of renewable energy sources and the capacities will steadily grow," the bank said.
Today, the projects related to the renewable energy sources in the bank are represented in all spheres, namely, these are wind farms, the projects related to solar energy, and small hydroelectric power plants.
"The bank began considering the projects related to the renewable energy source since 2015, almost immediately after the Kazakh government first set the long-term fixed tariffs, organized the centralized purchase of electricity from various renewable energy facilities, as well as after the initiators received the first PPA contracts,” the bank said.
“As far as renewable energy sources were developing in the country, the bank together with clients also increased competence, studied the legislation, began to understand the features of a particular station, technical nuances, depending on the source of generation, location, the used equipment, compared with the world experience, etc."
In general, the bank lends to the projects related to renewable energy sources by using various financing methods, including project, mezzanine, syndicated, and co-financing.
"In particular, the bank may co-finance the project together with other creditors for a total amount of at least seven billion tenge ($16.7 million) for a period of up to 20 years,” the bank said. “At the same time, the minimum amount of the bank's share must not be less than 3.5 billion tenge ($8.2 million). Within the financed projects, the bank can also lend to the activity to replenish the working capital up to 40 percent of the loan amount for a period not less than the financing time of these projects."