Schoenherr advises Kommunalkredit on financing construction of solar power plants in Romania

Schoenherr advised Kommunalkredit Austria AG (“Kommunalkredit”) on granting a EUR 25m loan to INVL Renewable Energy Fund I (“INVL”) to finance the construction of solar power plants with a total capacity of 51 MW in Romania. This is the first Romanian project in INVL’s pipeline to reach the ready-to-build phase.

Schoenherr acted as lead counsel to the lender for Austrian and Romanian law, with Sorainen acting as local counsel in Lithuania. The firm’s Vienna and Bucharest banking & finance teams worked together to provide integrated legal advice to Kommunalkredit.

“We are happy to have been alongside Kommunalkredit in this financing, which contributes to the development of renewable energy production capacities in Romania,” said Schoenherr Bucharest counsel Adina Damaschin.”As the country’s renewables sector remains on a growth path, we trust it will continue to attract interest from strong international lenders.“

“Fuelled by the growing focus on sustainability and ESG considerations, sustainable financing has gained traction in recent years,” Schoenherr partner Martin Ebner added.”This trend is also mirrored by our substantial lending practice across CEE, where projects that cover all facets of ESG continue to be appealing to financial institutions.“

Kommunalkredit is a specialist for infrastructure and energy financing. Together with its customers as partners, the bank creates values that continuously improve people’s lives. In doing so, it facilitates the construction and operation of infrastructure facilities by balancing the financing needs of project sponsors and developers with the growing number of investors looking for sustainable investment opportunities. The main investment segments are energy & environment, communications & digitalisation, transportation, social infrastructure and natural resources.

Established in 2021 by INVL Asset Management (part of INVL, the leading Baltic investment management and life insurance group), the INVL Renewable Energy Fund I is a sub-fund for professional investors. It invests in early- and mid-stage renewable energy projects (solar and wind), including the construction of new power plants, the development and/or acquisition of the infrastructure necessary for the operation of power plants, and effective management of existing power plants in the European Union and member states of the European Economic Area.

The Schoenherr team advising Kommunalkredit was co-led by Adina Damaschin (counsel, Bucharest) and Martin Ebner (partner), and included Alexandra Pop (senior attorney at law, Bucharest), Loredana Barbu (attorney at law, Bucharest) and Nikolaus Müllner (associate, Vienna).

Schoenherr is a leading regional law firm, with 15 offices and four country desks in Central and Eastern Europe and South-Eastern Europe. The firm has been active in Romania since 1996, providing full-service legal advice to local and multinational companies. Schoenherr și Asociații SCA is ranked in by all major legal directories that survey the legal market (Chambers and Partners, Legal500, IFLR1000).