Germany based GOLDBECK Solar Group (“GOLDBECK Solar”) and Polish electricity supplier Respect Energy SA (“Respect Energy”) secured senior loan facilities in an amount of up to PLN 635 million (EUR 136 million) for Poland’s largest solar PV project with a capacity of up to 286 MWp located in Zwartowo in the Northern part of the country. The financing package was provided by a banking club consisting of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), PKO Bank Polski and Bank Pekao. Capcora, a German consulting company, acted as the exclusive financial advisor. 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. 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 – the first construction stage is to become operational in June 2022.

“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 now 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 consulting firm Capcora acted as financial advisor and was responsible for the bank selection process and the coordination of the financing process.

“We are proud to have supported GOLDBECK Solar on this flagship project. This project sets new standards in the Polish financing market. The sheer size of the individual project combined with financing aligned with an intelligent mix of CfD, PPA and merchant revenues make this transaction unique.“, explains Alexander Enrique Kuhn, Managing Partner at Capcora.

On the legal side GOLDBECK Solar was advised by Norton Rose Fulbright while the lenders club was working with Dentons both on documentation and legal due diligence. Natural Power acted as lenders technical advisor, Capcora as financial advisor.