The €300 million Čibuk 1 wind farm, located approximately 50km north-east of Belgrade, Serbia, has successfully achieved financial close on 10 May 2018. Mott MacDonald is lenders’ technical advisor to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, on the project.
With a capacity of 158MW, Čibuk 1 is the largest wind project to date in Serbia. Once operational, it will be capable of producing electricity for an estimated 113,000 households annually, while reducing CO2 emissions by over 370,000 tonnes. Čibuk 1 will contribute towards Serbia’s commitment to produce 27% of its domestic power by renewable energy sources by 2020.
Mott MacDonald provided technical, environmental and social due diligence during financing to help the project achieve financial close. The consultancy will now monitor construction and operations in an ongoing role, which will include reviewing monthly progress reports provided by the developer and visiting the construction site on a quarterly basis.
Matthias Vinard, Mott MacDonald’s project director, said: “This project is another great example of how we closely collaborate with leading international finance institutions. It also confirms our strong position providing lenders technical advisory services on renewable energy projects in Eastern Europe, where we have worked on over 3.5GW of wind energy projects.”
The Čibuk 1 wind farm is expected to enter commercial operation in early 2019.
