ProCredit Bank Romania has successfully completed the granting of financing in the amount of 3.15 million euros to the nextE Group, as part of an innovative project on the renewable energy market. With the completion of this agreement, ProCredit Bank initiates the financing of EaaS (Energy as a Service) projects of particular importance for the business environment in Romania. The project has agreed to a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) for 25 years, of the corporate onsite type, according to the contract that nextE has already signed with RAAL.
The financing was granted for the construction of a photovoltaic plant with an installed power of 7.4 MWp in Bistrița Năsăud county. The construction was carried out on the property of a production facility, which is also the main consumer of electricity within the project.
“Financing nextE is yet another proof of our commitment to SMEs that invest in renewable energy,” declares Ștefan Manole, General Director of ProCredit Bank Romania. “ProCredit’s support goes both to prosumers or electricity producers and to those who implement innovative, complete, and customized solutions, such as the Energy as a Service (EaaS) mechanism. Also, in addition to the fact that this mechanism brings with it the advantage of directly delivering the generated electricity to the end user, it offers SMEs not only energy independence but also contributes to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.”
The partnership between ProCredit Bank and nextE represents an important step in the implementation of a more sustainable energy agenda at the national level. This allows the nextE Group to finance projects with up to 70% of the debt, thus facilitating the expansion of photovoltaic capacity in the country.
The Bistrița-Năsăud photovoltaic plant project, located on the property of a production facility, will operate on a rent-and-operate model. From the generated energy production, estimated at 7,200 MWh/year, and taking into account the profile consumption of the plant, approximately 80% of the energy produced will be provided for domestic consumption, while the surplus energy will be injected into the national grid. A special aspect of the project is the location of the photovoltaic panels—some were installed on the roof of the building and the rest on the ground—for the most efficient use of the available space. The installed equipment comes from Tier 1 manufacturers, renowned for their reliability.
nextE is a company that operates as an Independent Energy Producer (IPP), and currently focuses on developing operations through the Energy as a Service (EaaS) mechanism. This approach provides consumer companies with energy independence and long-term stability without incurring initial investment costs, performance risks, or operational risks, but above all, it reduces electricity costs and the CO2 footprint.
ProCredit Bank Romania
ProCredit Bank Romania is part of the development-oriented ProCredit group, which consists of commercial banks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).