EBRD Recognizes Excellence in Sustainable Energy Financing in Turkey

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched a new initiative to recognize the exceptional performance of its partner banks in Turkey towards financing of energy efficiency projects. The initiative recognizes the energy efficiency financing contributors with the "Excellence in Sustainable Energy Financing Awards."

TurSEFF or Turkey Sustainable Energy Financing Facility of EBRD is a critical financing instrument in the country that supports individuals and business reduce their energy costs. TurSEFF has extended credit worth more than $285 million since 2010 to Turkish banks to provide financial assistance to small and medium enterprises as well as homeowners who are implementing small-scale energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

346 eligible sub-borrowers have received nearly 90 percent of the total financing till now. The EBRD has announced that more than 50,000 households in Turkey have received the benefits in terms of energy-efficient heating and cooling technologies through a number of vendor schemes financed by the TurSEFF.

Owing to the energy efficiency support from TurSEFF, the homes have become more comfortable, businesses are more competitive, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, and the use of fossil fuel has gone down. TurSEFF-financed investments represent combined energy savings of about 286,000 tons of oil per annum, which is equivalent to the yearly household energy consumption of Adana, a city with a population of 1.5 million.

EBRD Director for Financial Institutions in the southern and eastern Mediterranean, Turkey and Ukraine, Francis Malige said at the awards ceremony: "We are delighted to honour the efforts by our partner banks to promote energy efficiency and low-carbon practices through their tailored lending products. By securing financing particularly to SMEs' energy saving projects, the EBRD contributes to their sustainable development and to raising the overall competitiveness of the Turkish economy. The partner banks are crucial to the successful implementation of this program."

Mike Davey, EBRD Director for Turkey, said: "These banks contribute to Turkey's transformation into an energy-efficient and low carbon market economy, while unlocking new investment opportunities for themselves. I am particularly pleased that some of these pioneering banks are taking steps towards adopting sustainable energy finance as a standard lending product."

Source: Finchannel

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