Nuran Erkul
10 January 2023•Update: 10 January 2023
LONDON
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed its largest-ever financing for electric vehicle charging and distributed electricity generation with Türkiye's Enerjisa Energy, totaling 2 billion Turkish liras ($110 million equivalent).
The loan was signed by the EBRD's Managing Director for Sustainable Infrastructure Group, Nandita Parshad, and Enerjisa Energy's CEO, Murat Pinar, on Monday at the EBRD's London headquarters.
"This is the largest-ever financing for electric vehicle charging and distributed generation that the EBRD has done anywhere in the world and thus it is very groundbreaking for us," Parshad told Anadolu Agency after the signing.
She said while the financing is very significant in terms of its size but it is even more important as it supports the greening of transportation – a relatively new but what is going to be very essential sector in the future.
The EBRD, Parshad said, has financed different renewable and clean energy projects in Türkiye but financing for electric vehicle charging is pushing the bank's operations to the next level.
"In a year, we tend to finance €1.5 billion equivalent in Türkiye and this $110 million is about 8% of what we do in a country in a year in just one transaction. We will learn a lot from this project's process," she stated.
Enerjisa Energy CEO Pinar said the renewable energy capacity growth worldwide in the next five years is set to be equal to the growth achieved in the past 20 years.
"Türkiye is expected to increase its renewable capacity about 65% in the next five years. The electric vehicle pool in Türkiye is anticipated to reach at least 2 million in 2030, similar to the global trend in electric vehicle market. While leading this rapid transformation, it is of great significance to promptly carry out sustainable and efficient investments that prioritize technology," he said.
"Thus, we will increase our investments that enables us to offer solutions to our customers with renewable resources, expand the electric vehicle charging infrastructure and upgrade our electricity distribution network with more efficient and technological equipment as well as smart grid practices thanks to the financing we are supplied via this agreement with the EBRD," Pinar said.
Parshad said reaching net zero emissions, which a significant number of countries has committed to, needs increasing electrification and greening of the sources of electricity.
"Every country is going to have to double and triple the amount of electricity that it generates if they are going to decarbonize their economies. Looking at a market as big as Türkiye and the energy transition that Türkiye needs to make, that electrification needs to be happening today," she said, adding that this is a growth business and that electric vehicle infrastructure needs to be put in place first before people start buying electric cars.
"So it is an essential prerequisite for decarbonizing transport," Parshad underlined.
Investing in more green, renewables 'economic imperative'
On the EBRD's new financing plans in Türkiye, she said the long-term strategy and focus in Türkiye is more renewables, electrification and more greening of other sectors as 2023 marks a milestone for the EBRD in terms of all its activities.
The bank pledged to ensure alignment of all its activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement by Jan. 1. As of the beginning of this year, all the bank's investments from direct lending to providing indirect financing through financial institutions will be aligned and assessed according to the goals of Paris climate accord.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty adopted by 196 countries in 2015 in Paris. The goal of the agreement is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius(2.7 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century.
Clean sources are now not only good for the climate but also the economic option in most economies.
"Investing in renewables is actually bringing costs down and improving infrastructure at a lower cost than before. I think that imperative to invest in more green and renewables will become an even stronger economic imperative going forward. The geopolitical challenges we have seen on the energy side also make renewables the most secure form of energy by far," she concluded.
The EBRD is active in 36 economies from Central Europe to Central Asia, the Western Balkans, and Southern and Eastern Mediterranean.
