EIB and Erste Bank Austria provide €79,2 million loans to WLK energy

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Erste Bank Austria are financing the construction of the new Engelhartstetten wind farm with loans of up to €79,2 million to WLK energy. The wind farm situated in Lower Austria is comprised of 11 wind turbines with total generating capacity of 45 MW. This is equivalent to the average demand from 39 000 homes and will save 980 tonnes of CO2 compared to the traditional electricity production mix in Austria.

WLK energy is an Austrian electricity producer. A special purpose vehicle has been established for the Engelhartstetten plant, the turbines for which will be supplied by Vestas, a major European manufacturer. The EIB will contribute to the overall costs with a loan of €51.5 million, while Erste Bank der österreichischen Sparkassen will add €27.7 million. Total project costs are estimated to be close to €90 million.

The project will help Austria to cut energy sector greenhouse gas emissions and lower the still high dependence on Russian gas. As such, the wind farm will contribute to the REPowerEU programme, which is designed to end this dependence as soon as possible. It is also the first EIB project to benefit from credit subsidies under the Austrian Renewable Energy Expansion Act. 

The federal state of Lower Austria has also put together an energy transition acceleration package in 2022 to speed up the approval process for renewables.

Construction of the wind farm started on 9 November and is set to last for 15 months. Grid connection is planned for December 2024, with commercial commissioning taking place in March 2025. In parallel, WLK energy has concluded a 15-year electricity supply agreement with Lenzing AG, a producer of wood-based textile fibres. Lenzing aims to cut CO2 emissions per tonne of fibres in half by 2030, and to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Another customer for the wind-power is Messer Austria, a manufacturer of industrial gas. 

EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros, who is responsible for oversight of financing operations in Austria: “We were one of the first banks to start financing wind farms in Europe and in Austria, and we are very proud of it. We shall provide further support to the development and expansion of this technology. Every new wind farm represents one further step towards the green energy transition, and thus towards the most important goal of the EU climate bank.”

CEO of Erste Bank Austria Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller: “It is important that we banks are aware of our responsibility towards the environment. Economic growth must be sustainable. In the future, we will take even more consideration towards the impact on the environment when awarding all our projects. By financing the Engelhartstetten wind farm, which will supply Austrian industry with green electricity, we are actively contributing to accelerating decarbonization. We need to ensure that money is invested sustainably and wisely to do better for the planet.”

Managing Director of WLK energy Mario Wohanka: “We are delighted to be delivering a further power station project with the EIB and Erste Bank as funding partners. WLK energy will provide a long-term supply of green electricity from this wind farm to two leading industrial concerns in Austria — Lenzing and Messer Austria. These partnerships are proof of our practical commitment to sustainability and will help to achieve calculable energy security and a more environmentally friendly carbon footprint.”

Deputy governor of Lower Austria Stephan Pernkopf: “The fact that the European Investment Bank is also part of this project shows how forward-looking the energy transition is being pursued here and that we have thus become a European role model. Lower Austria is already the federal state with the greatest CO2 reduction and the greenest electricity in Austria. This project catapults us even further forward. This protects the climate and benefits citizens, the economy and prosperity.”