Project Description

The project involves the provision of two senior secured loans to Baltic Sea Polska II sp. z.o.o. and C&C Wind sp. z.o.o. (the “Borrowers”), special purpose companies incorporated in Poland. The loan proceeds will finance the continued operation of the 37.5MW Orla windfarm (originally constructed and financed in 2015 and owned by C&C Wind sp. z.o.o.) and the construction and operation of the 31.5MW Grabkowo windfarm (owned by Baltic Sea Polska II sp. z.o.o.) (the “Project”).

Project Objectives

The Project will contribute to climate mitigation by adding 31.5MW wind generation capacity to the Polish national energy system. Wind and solar farms are critical to Poland in achieving its ambitious decarbonisation goals and their rapid development is key to diversifying away from hydrocarbon reliance. In addition, the Project will strengthen the private sector’s role in the renewable energy sector in Poland.

Transition Impact

ETI score: 60

The Project targets the “Green” Transition Impact quality by supporting the construction of a wind farm with a total installed capacity of 31.5MW. This capacity is expected to replace coal-fired power plants in the Polish generation mix and consequently result in associated CO2 savings of over 59,000 tonnes annually. For part of the expected generation volume, the Grabkowo windfarm has secured support in the 2019 auctions under the Polish Contract for Difference support scheme.

Client Information

Baltic Sea Polska II sp. z.o.o. and C&C Wind sp. z.o.o. are special purpose companies incorporated in Poland for the sole purpose of constructing and/or operating the Grabkowo and Orla windfarms. The Borrowers are 100%  owned by Eurowatt Green Energy Group S.A. (“Sponsor”), an independent renewable energy producer established in 1994 and engaged in the development, construction and operations of on-shore renewable energy assets across Europe. The Sponsor operates a portfolio of approximately 500MW of renewables (mainly windfarms) across France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain & Poland and has a development pipeline of over 1.5GW.

EBRD Finance Summary

PLN 126,065,000.00

Total Project Cost

PLN 376,430,000.00

Additionality

Financing structure and Risk mitigation. EBRD supports a foreign investor in its ambition to become an independent power producer and provides comfort to the co-lender to accept certain element of market risk in the financial structure. EBRD also provides comfort to the Sponsor and co-lender in relation to the country’s regulatory and political risks, related to financing projects under the renewable support scheme.

Environmental and Social Summary

Category B (ESP 2019). Environmental and social issues associated with the refinancing of an existing wind farm and development of a new wind farm can be readily assessed and mitigated based on an environmental and social due diligence (ESDD). The two wind farms are located in different parts of the country.

An independent consultant has been retained to undertake the ESDD of the Project and each wind farm as well as review monitoring data and cumulative impacts of the Projects. The ESDD has confirmed that the Project is structured to meet the Bank’s Performance Requirements as well as National and EU requirements. Furthermore, the ESDD confirmed that the projects are not located in sensitive areas and have appropriate permits issued by the Competent Authorities.

In the past the Bank has financed a project with the same Sponsor (DTM 43892 – Orla Wind Farm) and has developed and agreed a comprehensive Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) with the C&C Wind sp. z.o.o. The ESDD confirmed that the C&C Wind sp. z.o.o. has a robust ESHS management system and is implementing the existing ESAP on schedule and reporting to the satisfaction of the Bank. The ESDD has confirmed that the Borrowers are in compliance with National and EU regulations and no material issues have been reported with respect to environmental (including ornithological), labour or social issues.

The Borrowers have a robust labour and stakeholder engagement plan in place in line with the Bank’s requirements and industry best practice.

Based on the ESDD, the ESAP is being updated to ensure ongoing compliance and further institutional strengthening. An NTS for each project will be published by the Borrowers and the PSD updated once the ESDD is complete.

The Bank will continue to monitor the Project and ESAP implementation.

Additional information on the Sponsor as well as Non-Technical Summary of Orla and Grabkowo windfarms in Polish and English are available on the following websites: https://www.eurowatt-orla.com and https://www.eurowatt-potegowo.com.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

None.

Company Contact Information

Stanislaw Popow
s.popow@eurowatt.com
+48 601 202 662
https://www.eurowatt-orla.com/en , https://www.eurowatt-potegowo.com/en

PSD last updated

22 Sep 2023

Understanding Transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168

Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794

Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and the associated Performance Requirements (PRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”.  The ESP and the PRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation as well as to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about environmental and social performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD additionally requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts arising from projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and Compliance

The EBRD’s Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all activities of the Bank in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The Bank believes that identifying and resolving issues at the project assessment approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts, and also helps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is also responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, both within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. All matters reported will be handled by OCCO for follow-up. All reports, including anonymous ones, will be reviewed. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank’s countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations following its entry into force on 1 January 2020. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (e.g. through the Client’s Project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews Project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the Mechanism is: to support dialogue between Project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or Project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate; how to submit a Request for review; or contact IPAM  via email ipam@ebrd.com to get guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.