Dentons has advised PKO Bank Polski on a financing granted to VSB Polska, a subsidiary of the international VSB Group, for its investment in the 41.6 MW Racibórz onshore wind park. Located in Silesia, in the south of Poland, the project comprises 13 wind turbines. Construction began in June 2023, and the turbines were installed in October 2024. The first electricity supply from the Racibórz wind farm is expected in the first quarter of 2025.

This project follows a similar transaction from 2021, in which Dentons advised PKO Bank Polski on the financing granted to VSB Group for the construction of the Baranów–Rychtal wind farm, with a total capacity of 42.6 MW.

Dentons’ legal advice on the Racibórz wind farm project involved comprehensive support to the lender in preparing and negotiating the finance and hedging documents, facilitating the first loan disbursement as well as carrying out the legal due diligence. The transaction documents were governed by Polish and German law.

Partner Tomasz Zwoliński led the cross-border project, supported by associates Justyna Machnicka and Aleksandra Czyż from the Banking and Finance team in Warsaw. Christian Schnell, partner and Co-Head of the Europe Energy Sector Group, supervised the project-related aspects of the transaction, supported by counsel Joanna Świostek and senior associates Hanna Szymańska, Grzegorz Cieśniarski and Jerzy Oppeln-Bronikowski. The team also included partners Axel Schlieter and Arne Kluewer as well as associate Paul Sieminski from the Banking and Finance team in Germany.

PKO Bank Polski is the largest bank in Poland; the value of its assets reached PLN 507 billion at the end of the first half of 2024. The net profit of the PKO Bank Polski Group amounted to PLN 4.4 billion and the number of customers exceeded 12 million.

VSB, headquartered in Dresden, is one of Europe’s leading vertically integrated renewable energy developers. Its core business is the project development of onshore wind and photovoltaic parks, their operational management, and the operation of its parks as a growing independent power producer. Since establishing its presence in Poland in 2007, VSB has commissioned approximately 118 MW of installations to date and has gained experience operating installations with a capacity exceeding 350 MW across the country.