Phase I of the largest solar park in Poland to become operational in June 2022
Phase I of the largest solar park in Poland to become operational in June 2022
Zwartowo is Poland’s largest solar park and has the declared goal of supplying numerous Polish households with green electricity and thus reducing Poland’s historical dependence on fossil fuels. A flagship financing was recently concluded with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), PKO Bank Polski and Bank Pekao for a loan amount of up to PLN 635 million (EUR 136 million) for the further realisation of the project.
Zwartowo is located ca.65 km northwest of Gdańsk. The groundbreaking ceremony took place early 2021 and phase I of the solar park is now nearing completion. “Despite all adversities, construction is proceeding on schedule. Given the ongoing disruption of supply chains, the covid pandemic and war in Ukraine, this is a significant achievement.” stated Joachim Goldbeck, President of GOLDBECK SOLAR.
With total cost of almost EUR 200 million and a planned final capacity of 286 MWp, Zwartowo is a project of superlatives. As Poland’s largest solar park and one of the largest in Europe, it is expected to supply around 153,000 households with solar power.
The lead company for Zwartowo is Goldbeck Solar. The German EPC company from Hirschberg recently secured the financing for the solar park. “For the Polish market, the financing is an enormously important milestone, as it is the largest financing of a single photovoltaic project in the country.” explains Olga Kovalchuk, Head of Project Finance at GOLDBECK SOLAR.
The financing partners are EBRD as a multilateral lender and the two largest Polish banks, PKO Bank Polski and Bank Pekao. Olga Kovalchuk says: “The project was very well received by the lending community, and a competitive tender process allowed it to achieve market-leading financing terms, including a tenor of 18 years.”
The project represents an important contribution to the achievement of Poland’s climate protection goals. Together with its partner Respect Energy S.A., Goldbeck Solar aims to continue to promote the expansion of renewable energy in Poland.
“Respect Energy focuses on investments in renewable energy sources, which ultimately will guarantee the Group’s customers full security in the field of green energy supplies. Our aim is to create a green future for our country, so being a part of Zwartowo solar park is an obvious extension of our business strategy. We are very pleased that such a significant project on a European scale is one of our first investments.” stated Sebastian Jabłoński, President of the Management Board of Respect Energy S.A.
