News
Another bank financing supporting the green transformation of ZE PAK
On March 12, 2021, a loan agreement was concluded between a special-purpose vehicle from ZE PAK group - PAK PCE Fotowoltaika Sp. z o.o. and a consortium of banks composed of: PKO BP SA (in the role of the Loan Agent and Security Agent), Bank Pekao SA and mBank SA. The total value of financing made available to ZE PAK group is PLN 175 million, of which the investment loan is PLN 138 million, and the loan for VAT financing is PLN 37 million. The loan is used to finance the construction of a photovoltaic farm with an installed capacity of 70 MWp, located in Brudzew commune, in Turek poviat, in Wielkopolskie Voivodeship. The net area for investment will be 100.7 ha.
At the same time, a long-term electricity purchase agreement (PPA) was concluded between PAK PCE Fotowoltaika Sp. z o.o. and Polkomtel Sp. z o.o. The agreement was concluded for a period of 15 years with the possibility of extending it for another 5 years. The agreement provides for the purchase by Polkomtel Sp. z o.o. the total volume of electricity produced by the farm during its lifetime. The estimated volume of electricity production by Brudzew farm in the first year of its operation will be approximately 68 GWh. The total estimated sum of revenues from the sale of energy over a period of 15 years will amount to approximately PLN 300 million.
The contractor of Brudzew Farm is a consortium of ESOLEO Sp. z o.o. and PAK Serwis Sp. z o.o., and one of the main subcontractors is PAK Górnictwo Sp. z o.o. As part of the work to date, over 70% of the profiles supporting the supporting structure of the solar farm, as well as over 25% of its supporting structure, have been made. Completion of the investment is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.
The creation of the photovoltaic farm is closely related to the new strategy of the Company, which assumes complete abandonment of electricity production from lignite by 2030. The implemented investment is fully in line with the context of a just transformation carried out in post-mining areas in Poland. The investment area is a reclaimed area of post-excavation lignite mining carried out by PAK Kopalnia Węgla Brunatnego Adamów S.A., the one from which the last ton of lignite was extracted in February this year. Turek poviat - where Brudzew Farm is being built - has become a construction site for large-scale investments in renewable energy sources in the form of wind farms and photovoltaic farms.
ZE PAK SA places particular emphasis on the implementation of a number of measures aimed at minimizing the socio-economic consequences related to the cessation of electricity production from lignite in Eastern Wielkopolska. For this purpose, in agreement with the Regional Development Agency in Konin, the Company created the RES Training Center. It enables conducting comprehensive courses and trainings for potential installers of photovoltaic systems, which are finalized with obtaining certificates issued by the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers. The construction of Brudzew farm enabled the employment for people who until recently worked in the extraction of lignite, and who managed to retrain and gain new competences in the Center.
The experience gained by ZE PAK SA in the process of implementing the farm construction project, as well as in obtaining bank financing for its construction, will be used by the Company in the implementation of further large-scale renewable energy projects in post-mining areas.
The implementation of this investment, which will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of ZE PAK, is a practical implementation of the initiative of the main shareholder of ZE PAK, Mr. Zygmunt Solorz, the originator of "Clean Poland Program".
„The signing of the loan agreement for the financing of the construction project of Brudzew Farm is a confirmation by the banking sector of the legitimacy of the direction of green transformation chosen by ZE PAK SA, as well as proof of the consistent implementation of the new directions of the strategies announced by the Company” - said Piotr Woźny, President of the Management Board of ZE PAK.