Sofia, Bulgaria, 16 October 2024 — Rezolv Energy, an independent power producer backed by Actis, has secured up to €90 million in debt financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Raiffeisen Bank International to support the construction of the ‘St. George’ solar park in north-eastern Bulgaria.

Construction work is due to start very shortly, with the plant scheduled to come onstream next year.

This announcement follows the signing in early September of a major 12-year Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Ardagh Glass Packaging-Europe (AGP-Europe), an operating business of Ardagh Group. The VPPA – one of the first to be signed in Bulgaria – is intended to provide 110 GWh per year of renewable electricity from St. George to AGP-Europe to help decarbonise its manufacturing operations across Europe.

Also in September, Rezolv confirmed that it had selected three companies to build St. George. Solarpro, a Bulgarian company, and CMC Europe will together act as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner. The high voltage work will be delivered by Green Solar Energy, another Bulgarian company.

About the St. George solar park

The 225MW St. George solar park will be built on a brownfield site: the former Silistra airport, a decommissioned airfield in north-eastern Bulgaria covering 165 hectares. The project will comprise nearly 400,000 photovoltaic panels. It will be connected to the main transmission grid via a 110kV substation and two independent connection lines totalling approximately six kilometres in length.

With an average annual power generation of more than 310 Gigawatt hours (GWh), St. George will be one of the largest solar projects in Bulgaria once it is operational next year.

In a country which has historically relied on fossil fuels for most of its energy needs, replacing fossil production with renewables delivers the maximum possible emissions reduction impact. St. George will therefore play a crucial role in Bulgaria’s energy transition and help the country meet its climate targets.

The project will create 200 new jobs in the construction phase, both people involved in light assembly – which is work suitable for men and women, on both a full-time and part-time basis – and highly-skilled engineers. Longer term, the power plant will provide local employment throughout its 30 plus years of operation.

In approving the loans, the banks acknowledged Rezolv’s commitment to sustainability, which has been built on industry best practice and aligns with international standards, including the Equator Principles and IFC’s Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability.

Alastair Hammond, CEO of Rezolv Energy, said:

“From the very start, we were all excited by the opportunity that St. George presented to take a decommissioned airfield, which has not been put to any positive use for many years, and convert it into a project to improve air quality and help Bulgaria meet its climate targets. Securing this support from the IFC and Raiffeisen Bank International is a big step towards turning that dream into a reality.”

Jaroslava Korpanec, Partner, Head of Central and Eastern Europe, Energy Infrastructure at Actis, said:

“Rezolv is showing real impetus and this latest development is yet another example of how the business is kicking into gear to accelerate the energy transition and deliver clean energy in South Eastern Europe. It’s great that lenders understand the exciting opportunity offered by the energy transition and are backing Rezolv’s projects.”

Ary Naïm, IFC Manager for Central and South Europe, said:

“Bulgaria’s transition to a sustainable energy future is crucial, and IFC’s investment in this landmark solar power project underscores our commitment to supporting this transition. By partnering with Rezolv Energy, we are fostering the development of a more diversified and sustainable energy sector in Bulgaria, enhancing energy security, and promoting environmental sustainability.”

Peter Marx, Head of Project and Structured Finance at Raiffeisen Bank International, said:

“The St. George project stands as one of the largest renewable energy initiatives in Bulgaria, marking a key step forward for the country’s energy transition. This accomplishment was only made possible by the exceptional collaboration between Rezolv Energy, the International Finance Corporation and RBI.”

Rezolv, which launched two years ago, already has well over 2GW of clean energy being prepared for construction in South Eastern Europe. As well as St. George, projects include Dama Solar in western Romania which, at 1,044MW, will be the largest solar plant anywhere in Europe once it is built. Rezolv also has more than 1GW of wind power under construction or in late stage development in Romania.