Eastern Europe to receive €15bn renewables investment

Renewable energy projects in Eastern Europe are set to receive an investment boost of up to €15 billion over the next two years, under plans drawn up by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EBRD said it aims to invest €3-5 billion in renewables by 2011, and believes this will trigger additional investments of up to €10 billion.

“Reducing energy wastage in eastern Europe and developing reliable new supplies of sustainable energy remain core to the EBRD’s future strategy,” said EBRD president Thomas Mirow.

Projects to be backed by the initiative include energy efficiency in buildings, eco-friendly transport, biomass energy, and climate change adaptation.

The announcement follows €3 billion of EBRD investment in renewable energy over the last three years under the Sustainable Energy Initiative.

Set up in 1991 to support communist bloc countries in the transition to a market economy, the EBRD is now owned by 60 national governments and supports developing economies and democracies from central Europe to central Asia.

Many of the countries it works with still rely on cheap, wasteful energy with high carbon emissions, and through this latest initiative, the EBRC aims to enable its partner countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions whilst boosting their economy.

“Countries in the EBRD region continue to grapple with the legacy of cheap energy that made wastage an endemic problem,” the EBRD said in a statement.

Mirow added: “Energy efficiency helps increase competitiveness. It is a key part of the transition process.”

This year the EBRD plans to invest a record €7 billion in infrastructure, finance, energy and corporate projects to help tackle the financial slowdown.