Raiffeisenbank funds energy projects for 0.8 bln hryvni in Ukraine since early 2024

MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax) - Raiffeisenbank (Kiev) has funded projects in the energy sector for 800 million hryvni and made decisions on financing for 1.3 billion hryvni since the beginning of 2024.

Director of Raiffeisenbank's International Corporate Clients Department Yury Raksha made this statement at the talk show titled "Financing energy projects in Ukraine: rebuilding and development of new generation capacity," which was organized by the Energy Club, Ukrainian media reported.

Raiffeisen mainly extends credits for building gas piston plants, has already implemented a number of projects in bioenergy and considers applications for building solar farms, but it is not yet ready to fund the construction of wind farms, he said.

"As for biomass and biogas, indeed, there are minor projects for 5-10 MW, there are also solar projects focused on 15-20 MW today, and wind, probably not yet," Raksha said. Currently, the bank extends credits for projects with a payback period of three to five years.

Many banks that serve major entities on the energy market have already faced the ceiling of lending capacity, which is $70 million directly in Raiffeisen, he said.

"That is why international finance institutions with risk-sharing programs, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), which allow us to share credit risks, have come to our aid today," Raksha said.

Raiffeisen has signed several of these programs with a total financing limit of more than $300 million over the past two years, he said.

Raiffeisen itself has installed a rooftop solar farm at its first office as part of its first pilot project in distributed generation capacity.

"We have equipped our first office with rooftop solar panels. This is the first such test project on our part, and we will consider its expansion next," Raksha said. The bank has also provided generators to 80% of its 315 outlets in order to provide uninterrupted service to its customers.