Turkish Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (TurSEFF)

The launch of the Turkish Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (TurSEFF) Phase I marked the entry of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) into Turkey’s sustainable energy market, laying the foundations for a series of sustainable energy finance operations that continue to grow. The EBRD used its own funding, as well as financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the European Union to support five major Turkish banks, Akbank, Denizbank, Garantibank, Isbank, and Vakifbank, as they created lending products for sustainable energy, developed a project pipeline, assessed loan requests, and verified the implementation of projects.
Following a slow start, due to limited experience in Turkey of financing dedicated to sustainable energy, the facility rapidly achieved full disbursement ahead of target. The period from June 2010 to January 2013 saw over US$ 450 million invested in sustainable energy projects through TurSEFF. This avoided almost 650,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. It also saved almost 1.5 TWh and 1.15 TWh per year respectively through energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. What is more, the participating Turkish banks and the EBRD together created a powerful brand for sustainable energy finance, and built a lasting relationship through which new partnerships were created to finance larger projects.