Polish banks PKO Bank Polski and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego have signed the country’s first syndicated deal in the biogas and biomethane sector. The PLN 74 million ($20 million) loan will support Neo Biofuel Energy in acquiring and developing agricultural biogas plants, reports gasworld.
The investment will fund three biogas facilities in the Lublin and Silesian Voivodeships, with a combined capacity of 3.2 MW. The syndicated loan could increase to PLN 217 million ($59.5 million) as Neo Biofuel Energy aims to expand to seven projects with a total capacity of 12 MW.
This development follows Poland’s opening of its first industrial-scale biomethane plant. Gas distribution operator Polska Spolka Gazownictwa recently connected the 45 MW Sudzucker plant in Strzelin, Lower Silesia, to the national grid. The facility, operated by Europe’s largest sugar refiner, will convert sugar beet residue into biomethane for factory use, injecting any surplus into the network through a 9 km pipeline.
Poland, among Europe’s top five biomethane markets, is projected to reach around 5 billion cubic meters of biomethane production annually by 2035.
