Masdaar Taaleri Generation announced the financial close for the 154 megawatt (MW) Čibuk 2 wind farm in Serbia at a special ceremony on the sidelines of RES Serbia 2024.
The financial close agreement was signed in the presence of Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedović Handanović, Masdar’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Taaleri’s Group CEO, Peter Ramsay and Taaleri Energia Managing Director, Kai Rintala. Non-recourse project financing for Cbuk 2 has been secured via commercial lenders, UniCredit and Erste (Erste Group and Erste Bank Serbia), who are extending a EUR 144 million debt facility.
Construction on the project begins in the third quarter of 2024 and it is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2026. Cibuk 2 will produce enough renewable energy to power around 62,000 households and displace 311,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide during each year of operation.
Consisting of 22 Nordex 7MW turbines, it will share the same grid connection point as the 158MW Cibuk 1 wind farm which was the largest utility-scale wind project in Serbia and the Western Balkans when it became operational in October 2019. The completion of Čibuk 2 will bring total renewable energy capacity to 312MW and make the combined Cibuk project the largest operational wind farm in Serbia.
Cibuk 2 has been developed by Masdar and Taaleri Energia, via their joint venture development vehicle Masdar Taaleri Generation, in partnership with New Energy Solutions, one of the leading developers in Serbia. Nordex is supplying the turbines and will also provide operations and maintenance services for the project under a 35-year contract.