The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has presented a new preferential lending program for medium and large businesses as part of the implementation of the Resilience Plans. The main goal of the initiative is to help enterprises create their own distributed generation, which will prepare them for the upcoming heating season and reduce the risks of blackouts in production.
This is reported by Finway
“Businesses will be able to obtain preferential loans for creating their own distributed generation. In this way, the government will help businesses better prepare for the next heating season and protect production from blackouts.”
Main Lending Conditions for Businesses
The key advantage of the program is the accessible interest rate — only 10%. The difference between the preferential and the actual market rate will be compensated to banks by the government. Enterprises will be able to receive financing ranging from 1 to 25 million euros (in the equivalent in hryvnias) with a repayment term of up to 5 years. For companies operating in frontline areas, the minimum loan amount has been reduced to 500,000 euros.
Another significant advantage is the grace period. Entrepreneurs have the right to defer loan payments until the actual commissioning of the generation facility, but not longer than 12 months.
Areas of Use for Loan Funds
Funds obtained through this program can be directed towards the construction and launch of various energy facilities. In particular, the following will be financed:
- gas turbine and gas piston installations, including cogeneration (simultaneous production of electricity and heat);
- renewable energy facilities — biogas, biomass, geothermal projects;
- industrial energy storage systems;
- creation of microgrids and autonomous local energy systems.
The official launch of the program is scheduled for June 1. Applications for loans can be submitted through partner banks participating in the implementation of this initiative.
The government emphasizes that the ultimate goal of the program is to create 4 GW of distributed generation capacity across Ukraine to ensure the autonomy of critical infrastructure and businesses. Since the beginning of the implementation of the Resilience Plans, Ukrainian enterprises have already added 162 MW of new generating capacity to the national energy system.
Earlier, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine presented a strategy for the development of the energy system that can withstand attacks from the Russian Federation and ensure the autonomous operation of the country.