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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “EBRD” or the “Bank”), within its Green Economy Transition (“GET”) approach, is committed to scale up financing of projects that advance the transition to environmentally sustainable, low-carbon economies in its Countries of Operation (“CoO”), including advanced and innovative renewable energy solutions.

Besides mature ground-mounted applications, floating solar PV power plants are becoming increasingly popular as costs continue to fall and the interest of reducing land use starts to grow. Quite a few floating applications have become operational or are under construction around the world, ranging in size from a few MW to hundreds of MW each (the biggest currently in operation is the 1 GW Dongying Offshore Floating Solar Farm in China). The total cumulative capacity will likely exceed 10 GW by the end of 2025, driven heavily by large projects in the Asia-Pacific region (China, India, Indonesia). The project pipeline exceeds 60 GW, indicating significant planned growth.

Floating PV has the advantage of performing better in hot and humid ambient conditions in comparison with ground-mounted plants due to the combined effect of water and wind cooling on panels and cables. Additionally, floating PV has been found to contribute to water conservation due to the ability to reduce water evaporation and algae growth.

The present study specifically focuses on the viability of developing a cumulative floating PV capacity of up to 3,000 MW over the surface of [3] lakes (the “Projects”).

The ability to rely on the related existing high-voltage grid infrastructure for the Projects would be an obvious technical and economic advantage. The lakes have a vast theoretical potential for floating PV – in this sense, the choice of the location and design capacity of the Projects is expected to be driven by technical, economic, environmental and considerations on other existing uses of the reservoirs, while still being large enough to be potentially meaningful in terms of electricity production and replicability of the concept.

As an important side benefit, the Projects might help increasing the water available downstream of the lakes for irrigation and civil uses, thanks to its possible contribution to reducing water evaporation losses. At the same time, the study will carefully consider the possible environmental and social risk and impacts associated with of the Projects including impacts to biodiversity and the local ecosystem, as well as lakes users including irrigation, fishing and recreational activities, energy production, etc., and how these can be addressed and mitigated in line with good international practice.

The Consultant will be guided by the environmental and social issues considered in EBRD’s Environmental and Social Policy and its associated Performance Requirements.

The main objective of the assignment is to study and identify the main technical characteristics of the Projects to ensure they meet best international practice, minimise technical, environmental and social risks.

The main tasks of the study are to support the EBRD and the relevant stakeholders in Türkiye in defining the main features of the Projects, including the overall size and potential locations in each lake, the anticipated investment costs and electricity production estimates, the identification of the main preliminary technical specifications as well as any regulatory or market issues that need to be addressed for the implementation of the Projects.

The main Counterparts for the assignment will be the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Electricity Generation Company (EUAS) and the Turkish Electricity Transmission Company (TEIAS).

 

January 6, 2026

Following a prosecution brought by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), former Kildare based car dealer, Ionut Nitulescu, has pleaded guilty to misleading a consumer about the history of a second-hand car. Under consumer protection law, it is an offence for traders to give false, misleading or deceptive information about the history of a car.

In a ruling at Naas District Court yesterday morning, Judge Desmond Zaidan fined Mr Nitulescu €2,000 and ordered him to pay costs of €8,145 to the CCPC. Both sums must be paid within six months. In addition, Mr Nitulescu is in the process of paying €8,700 compensation to the consumer.

The CCPC prosecuted Mr Nitulescu, formerly of John O’Donnell Motors in Kildare Town, following an investigation which established that Mr Nitulescu had sold a vehicle to a consumer and during that transaction provided to the consumer misleading information about the car’s history.

The court heard that on 3 November 2022, the consumer purchased an Audi A4 after seeing the car advertised on DoneDeal. After travelling to the trader’s premises to inspect the car, the consumer was given misleading information by Mr Nitulescu in relation to the vehicle’s previous damage. The consumer then purchased the vehicle for €8,700 after trading in his previous vehicle.

Pat Kenny, Commission Member at the CCPC, said:

“Consumers should always be able to rely on accurate information from car traders on a car’s history, condition and roadworthiness. Failure to disclose such information may be an offence under consumer law.

“The CCPC remains active in this sector and will continue to inspect car dealers across the country. We are committed to using all the powers available to us to challenge and take enforcement action against traders found to be misleading consumers.”

The CCPC strongly recommends that motor traders take all reasonable steps to ensure a car is safe and roadworthy, including completing a car history check, before making a car available for sale.

While the law sets out the rules for traders, consumers should also take a proactive approach when buying a car and use the CCPC’s checklist to ensure they are getting what they pay for by visiting www.ccpc.ie/consumers/cars/buying. The CCPC also has a printable car buyers checklist to help in comparing cars.

The CCPC urges any consumer who believes that they have been misled by a motor trader, or indeed any trader, to contact our consumer helpline on (01) 402 5555 or email us at ask@ccpc.ie.

The CCPC also recently published a report advocating for an online portal that would grant second-hand car buyers free access to essential car history information, including write-off status and mileage readings. For more information, visit the CCPC’s report calling for public access to used-car histories.

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