Renewable energy developer Kalyon Enerji has secured a €249mn loan from Standard Chartered for a solar project in Turkey.

The green loan is being covered by the export credit agencies (ECAs) of the UK and Poland, with UK Export Finance (UKEF) extending a 100% guarantee and Kuke supplying reinsurance worth over €122mn.

Standard Chartered acts as structuring bank, green loan coordinator, lead arranger and lender on the deal.

Kalyon Enerji will use the funds to build solar power plants at seven sites across the provinces of Bor-Nigde, Gaziantep and Sanliurfa-Viransehir, altogether generating an estimated 390MW in power.

The solar power project will be the second largest in Turkey once fully built, capable of producing enough electricity for over 65,000 Turkish households on an annual basis, Kalyon Enerji says.

The loan will directly support jobs at GE Vernova’s manufacturing site in Staffordshire, and within the country’s wider supply chains, UKEF says.

Through its subsidiary UK Grid Solutions, GE Vernova will supply inverter stations, power-plant controllers and other critical equipment to the Turkish project before installing the equipment.

“Our mission is to grow the economy, including through boosting exports so British businesses can sell their world-class goods and services around the world,” says Gareth Thomas, UK minister for exports. “This announcement will support jobs and businesses across the country, especially in the Midlands, and support the global transition toward cleaner energy.”

Polish exporters will deliver security systems – including both software and equipment – and steel components to the project.

Piotr Maciaszek, director of insurance and international relations department at Kuke, says the “contract in the green technology sector proves that Polish companies have broad competences”.

“Thanks to the support of Kuke, Polish entities are more often involved in the implementation of infrastructure projects in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. We hope to announce further transactions this year with significant involvement from Polish businesses,” he says.

Kalyon Enerji previously secured a US$500mn project finance facility from JP Morgan and a group of Turkish banks, partly covered by UKEF, backing the construction of its Karapinar solar power plant.

Karapinar became fully operational in 2023 and is currently the largest solar power plant in Europe. With over 3 million panels, it accounts for roughly 11% of the total solar power generated in Turkey.

Renewable energy already represents at least 54% of the total installed electricity capacity in Turkey, government data shows.

ECAs have long proven a popular source of funding for large-scale projects in Turkey, amid persistent concerns over high levels of inflation, a weak Turkish lira and unorthodox monetary policy.

The transport sector has been a particular hive of activity, with UKEF announcing in January that it would cover a €1.03bn loan for a high-speed electric railway in the Ankara region alongside a group of reinsurers – Kuke, Italy’s Sace and Austria’s OeKB.

Last year, UKEF also supported a €781mn loan for the construction of a high-speed train track in southern Turkey, and a year earlier, backed a €2.4bn loan led by Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered.  

In 2021, Denmark’s ECA loaned €576mn for Kalyon Holding to build a stretch of railway in the country’s northwest. ECAs including Kuke and Spain’s Cesce provided reinsurance on the deal.