In February 2016, at an awards ceremony in Istanbul, the EBRD and its partners recognised 11 companies financed through the Mid-size Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MidSEFF) for promoting energy efficiency and energy generation from renewable sources.
The winners of the 2016 MidSEFF Sustainable Energy Awards are:
The Energy Efficiency Pioneer Award went to Konya Şeker, a sugar company, for implementing energy saving and waste-to-energy solutions at two of its plants. The first project under MidSEFF was financed through Akbank with a total loan amount of €8.8 million.
The Award for the First Biomass Plant went to the Mutlular Grup. With a €20.9 million loan from Denizbank and expert support provided through MidSEFF, Mutlular will be the country’s largest biomass power plant built to date.
Koçlu hydroelectric power plant, the largest hydropower plant financed under MidSEFF, received an award for the Successful Implementation and Certification of an Environment, Health and Safety Management System (ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001). The plant was built with a €43.9 million loan from Finansbank.
The Award for the Most Proactive Implementation of Environmental and Social Standards was shared by Samurlu and Karadere wind power plants for adopting the highest environmental standards. The projects were financed through Garanti Bank, having received loans of €30.3 million and €6.7 million respectively.
The Award for Most Advanced Carbon Credit Project was collected by Rönesans Holding for the Sena hydroelectric power plant. This project benefited from additional carbon market support provided under MidSEFF and was subsequently registered under the Verified Carbon Standard. It now has over 20,000 carbon credits available for immediate sale. The project benefited from a loan of €24.7million from Garanti Bank.
The Largest CO2 Emission Reduction Project Award was given to the 56.4 MW Edincik wind power plant. This project also benefited from carbon market support under MidSEFF and is registered under the Gold Standard. Edincik received a €15 million loan from Isbank.
The Award for the Largest Geothermal Power Plant was taken by the Pamukören geothermal power plant whose effective stakeholder engagement stood out. It was financed with a €37.4million loan from Vakifbank.
The Award for Best Stakeholder Engagement was taken by the Saray hydroelectric power plant though for their close engagement with local residents in the Black Sea Region. The project was financed with a €14.9 million loan from Vakifbank.
The Highest Energy Saving Project Award was received by cement producer Göltaş A.Ş. The company is expected to reduce energy use by 75,000 MWh per year by producing electricity from waste-heat recovery and by installing a more efficient mill. Yapı Kredi provided a €30.7million loan for the project.
The Best Outreach Project Award was taken by Gümüşköy geothermal power plant for capturing its CO2 emissions, using them in local greenhouses and selling them to industrial gas consumers. The plant was financed with a €15.9million loan from Yapikredi.
Since MidSEFF was launched in 2011, 43 Turkish companies have received financing through seven participating banks – Akbank, Denizbank, Finansbank, Garanti Bank, Isbank, Vakifbank and Yapı Kredi. All MidSEFF partner banks were also awarded as part of the ceremony for their continued commitment to financing sustainable energy projects.