Luminor has co-financed the construction of a solar power plant in Cesis by Merito Sustainable Energy Fund I (Merito Fund) with a EUR 6.5 million loan. Merito Foundation is currently the largest operator of solar power plants in Latvia. The Cesis solar power plant is the fifth project implemented by the Fund and will involve a total investment of almost EUR 12 million of domestic capital.
The power plant will be located in “Purmali”, Priekuli Parish, Cesis Municipality. The implementation of the project has started on 23 hectares of land, with the help of experienced experts from Saules Energy. The Cesis solar power plant is expected to be put into service this summer.
“Europe’s climate neutrality targets have given a huge boost to the development of renewable energy, and the number of solar and wind energy projects in Latvia is growing. We already produce a lot of energy from renewable resources in Latvia. The construction of the Cesis solar power plant is also an important contribution to the green energy and environmental protection goals and Luminor is happy to support the implementation of this project, which is also in line with the bank’s sustainability goals,” says Ilze Zoltnere, Head of Corporate Department at Luminor in Latvia.
The Cesis plant will have a capacity of more than 19 MW, and more than 33,500 solar panels will be located there. The power plant will supply 9,500 households in Cesis and the surrounding municipalities with green electricity.
“To strengthen Latvia’s energy independence, the Merito Fund plans to invest a total of EUR 50 million in eight new solar power plants in Latvian regions. Last year, together with Saules Energy, we completed the construction of four new plants in Zilupe, Brenguli, Incukalns and Carnikava with a total capacity of 25 MW. They produce green electricity that is consumed by local residents and businesses. In the Cesis project, as in the other solar power plants of our fund, we pay special attention to biodiversity conservation and environmental protection,” says Mikus Janvars, co-founder and managing partner of Merito Partners.
This year, the Fund plans to build four solar power plants. The eight new power plants will generate at least 70,000 MWh of electricity per year, supplying green energy to more than 35,000 households across Latvia.
Saules Energy is a developer of renewable energy projects using Latvia’s capital. It aims to make investments in green technologies profitable and serve a wide range of people.
