EBRD approves loan for biogas plant in Ukraine

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a loan of $12m for Astarta to construct a biogas plant in Ukraine and generate renewable energy at its sugar plant.

Astarta’s subsidiary LLC APO Tsukrovyk Poltavschyny will receive the loan to build a new biogas plant which can process approximately 120,000 tonnes of beet pulp annually and produce about 14.4 million cubic metres of biogas.

The biogas production will reduce the company’s annual gas consumption by about 7.7 million cubic metres.

The new biogas plant is expected to decrease Astarta’s sugar plant consumption of natural gas by 46%, water by 10%, and reduce 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

The biogas plant is also expected to eventually reduce up to 35,000 tonnes of green house gas emissions annually.
EBRD will provide the loan under its Agribusiness Sustainable Investment Facility.

Neighbourhood Investment Facility, a financial mechanism which aims at financing additional funds to cover the investment needs of the EU Neighbouring region for infrastructures in sectors such as transport, energy, carried out a strategic assessment of the optimisation of biomass residues from the production process, under its Regional Energy Audit Programme.

Astarta also signed two carbon credit agreements with the Multilateral Carbon Credits Fund based on the Joint Implementation mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol.

EBRD as the financial investor in Ukraine has committed over €8bn ($10bn) through 320 projects as of the end of August 2012.