Norm Enerji - EBRD & TURSEFF

Up to $200 million to boost investments in energy efficiency

The EBRD is promoting energy efficiency projects in Turkey with a newly-launched Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (TurSEFF) worth up to $200 million, for on-lending to businesses and households via local partner banks. TurSEFF includes $40 million low cost funding the Clean Technology Fund (CTF)*.

Reducing energy intensity is one of the key priorities for Turkey, which relies on imports for 75 per cent of its energy needs. The proceeds of the facility will be used to finance energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy investments implemented by Turkish businesses and households, helping them to cut their carbon footprint by reducing energy wastage.

Akbank, Garanti Bank and Vakifbank are the first Turkish banks who will take up the facility, each signing up for $60 million credit lines.

The proceeds of the sub-loans will be used to finance such investments as industrial energy efficiency, thermal rehabilitation of buildings, small scale renewable investments, including geothermal, solar, biomass and biogas.

TurSEFF financing is supported by €6.8 million in technical assistance grants, provided by the Clean Technology Fund and the European Union in collaboration with the Turkish Treasury. The funds will be used to support the participating banks in developing financing instruments for energy efficiency projects, to help sub-borrowers design and implement such projects, as well as to increase the awareness about the benefits of sustainable energy investments.

“The launch of TurSEFF underscores the EBRD’s firm commitment to help economies reduce their energy intensity and to promote the sustainable use of energy. The project will help small businesses and households become more energy efficient, which is particularly important as the prices for natural resources are rising. As a result of the investments implemented under the Facility, small businesses are expected to become more competitive, residences more comfortable, the intensity of fossil fuel use will be reduced and significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions will be avoided”, said Nick Tesseyman, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions.

TurSEFF is a continuation of the EBRD’s efforts to help countries reduce their energy intensity. Similar EBRD facilities are currently operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine. Overall the EBRD has committed over $1.1 billion to Sustainable Energy Financing Facilities (SEFFs) in these countries.

*CTF is one of the two (along with the Strategic Climate Fund) multi-donor Trust Funds within the global Climate Investment Funds, set up to promote clean technologies by funding low-carbon programmes and projects with significant potential for long-term Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions savings.