China Eximbank, ICBC, and CCB pledge EUR 500 million syndicated loan for construction of 300MW Zophia II and 450 MW Zophia III Wind Farms in Ukraine

Project narrative

On October 23, 2019, NBT AS (now known as Emergy AS), a Norwegian wind farm developer and operator, China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Company (CET), Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Eximbank, and China Construction Bank (CCB) signed a "Preliminary Financing Arrangement Agreement" for the construction of the 300MW Zophia II and 450 MW Zophia III wind farms on the Azov coast in Zaporizhia, Ukraine. The agreement consisted of a EUR 500 million syndicated loan of senior debt from ICBC, China Eximbank, and CCB. NBT was also seeking an additional EUR 250 million for the project from other international lenders. The total cost of the project is projected to exceed EUR 1 billion, equivalent to 1% of Ukraine's GDP. Once completed, the Zophia wind farm will be the largest in Europe, greatly reduce carbon emissions, and produce enough electricity to provide power to 340,000 households. At the same time that the Preliminary Financing Arrangement Agreement was signed, CET (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC)), was awarded the EPC contracts for the Zophia II and Zophia III wind farms. The construction of the farms is being completed by a joint venture of NBT AS/Emergy AS and CET. Construction was set to complete and the wind farm commissioned by the end of 2021. In August 2021, construction on the Zophia II and Zophia III wind farms began with an expected completion date of September 2022. On February 8, 2022, Emergy AS announced that the construction of the Zophia Wind Farm had been put on hold due to uncertainty of buyers for the energy produced by the project as well as other concerns related to the invasion of Ukraine, and that it will likely remain on hold until the company decides how to sell the energy. At the time of the announcement, the construction of certain infrastructure had been completed. As of June 2022, the official project website and other Emergy sources continue to state that due to the war in Ukraine, the construction of the Zophia Wind Farm project is currently on hold.