CTP will receive a hundred million loan to finance the plan for the use of solar energy

Ten year unsecured loan contribute

CTP, which has a portfolio of 10.9 million square meters (GLA) in Central and Eastern Europe with a growing focus on Western Europe, i.e. markets such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, is targeting rapid growth in renewable energy generation in your portfolio. The company has established its own energy company, which oversees an ambitious program of installing photovoltaic power plants (PV).

From 2020, CTP ensures that all its industrial and logistics buildings are "solar ready", i.e. ready for the installation of solar devices. The company ended 2022 with 38 MWp of installed PV capacity on its rooftops in the pan-European portfolio and plans to add another 100 MWp in 2023. EIB financing will support CTP's medium-term goal of reaching 400 MWp by 2026. Where renewable energy is not currently available on site, CTP works with energy suppliers to provide clients with 100% renewable energy.

is to accelerate the transition to new energy, strengthen the security of energy supply and support measures in the field of climate and social and economic cohesion. The loan is part of the EIB's earmarked contribution to the REPowerEU plan, which aims to end Europe's dependence on fossil fuel imports, and was offered on attractive terms.

In the Czech Republic, CTP has thirteen years of experience with installation, connection to the distribution network, as well as maintenance and operation of photovoltaic power plants on the roofs of its parks. At the turn of 2022/2023, the company completed the installation of another 8 MWp, reaching a cumulative output of 14 MWp. By the end of this year, it plans to build another 30 MWp, which are to be put into operation at the beginning of 2024. CTP wants to build a cumulative installed capacity of 250 to 300 MWp in the country by 2030.

The developer intends to almost double its portfolio to a total of 20 million square meters by the end of the decade. In the long term, it plans to create completely energy-independent industrial parks, where all the energy consumed will be produced directly in the parks and the excess energy will be fed into the local electricity grid and support neighboring communities. According to the company, this will reduce the total operating costs of CTP clients and create a more resilient and safer energy network, while also reducing the carbon footprint of CTP and its clients.

"The support of the European Investment Bank is proof of our robust business strategy that we have put in place for the large-scale installation of PV throughout our portfolio and enables us to obtain long-term unsecured financing on attractive terms," highlights Richard Wilkinson, CFO of the CTP Group.

Pointing to the longer time horizon of CTP's plans, Peter Ceresnik, CTP's chief operating officer, says of the loan: "The financing from the European Investment Bank will accelerate our plans to maximize the solar potential of our portfolio and help us meet our medium-term target of installing 400 MWp by 2026. It will also help us achieve our long-term vision of making our parks energy positive. In other words, they will be able to produce and share excess energy from renewable sources."

Pavel Šilling, CTP's energy specialist, comments on the investments to date: "In recent years, our company has invested significantly in capacities and energy know-how. CTP can now solve the synergies of all modern energy systems in parallel." These are, for example, Energy Management System/Smart Metering, dynamic control of PV power, systems for capacity and aggregation services with PV + BESS or with a hydrogen electrolyzer, BMS/PV/e-car systems cahrge systems, energy sharing and allocation systems (PVE production/consumption) within the CTPark community and the like.

"There is a huge untapped potential for renewable energy sources in Central and Eastern Europe," explains Lilyana Pavlova, Vice President of the EIB. "With loans like the one for CTP, we help countries in the region move away from fossil fuels. This will reduce their dependence on energy imports and ultimately reduce electricity prices to the benefit of all. CTP's rooftop solar systems support the transition to a low-carbon economy that is environmentally friendly and climate-resilient – a transition that makes real economic and social sense.”

The EIB funding comes after CTP published its Sustainability report, a report on how CTP is progressing in meeting its ESG commitments and whether these commitments are in line with the requirements of the EU taxonomy. The report is published in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, EPRA recommendations on best practices in the field of sustainability (Best Practices Recommendations) and also in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).