KOSTT signs connection agreement for 192 MW for solar park in Kosovo*

Kosovo’s power transmission system operator inked its third big deal in three months for the connection of planned renewable power plants to the grid. Dukagjini Solar intends to install two photovoltaic units of 96 MW of alternating current power each. The planned combined peak capacity is 250 MW.

The Transmission, System and Market Operator (KOSTT) of Kosovo* said its Chief Executive Officer Mustafë Hasani signed an agreement for a solar park in Peja-Peć that is expected to start production in 2023. The deal is for a capacity of 192 MW in alternating current (AC) terms, while the peak level, expressed in direct current, will be 250 MW, project managers said.

Dukagjini Solar, a joint venture between Ibex Energy and Jaha Solar, is developing the project near the western border. It consists of units Terstenik and Sverke, with an AC capacity of 96 MW each. Ibex Energy’s Chairman Christopher James and Jaha Solar’s Chairman Fadil Hoxha represented the company at the signing ceremony. Jaha Solar is a domestic manufacturer of solar power panels.

Alternating current capacity, expressed in MWac or kWac, is the maximum that can enter the grid and it depends on the total size of inverters. The peak capacity of a photovoltaic facility is in direct current and the units are MWp or kWp.

The solar park will be connected to the 110 kV transmission network through a new line and connected to the 400/110 kV Peja 3 substation, according to KOSTT.

Last month it signed an equivalent agreement for Solar Energy Group’s future 150 MWp photovoltaic system in Gjakova, also known as Đakovica. It follows a deal from December with Air Energy 2 for two wind farms and a solar power plant with a combined 99.6 MW in Kamenica, but the details weren’t specified.

Data from the Energy Regulatory Office show Kosovo* had only 10 MW installed in on-grid solar power plants in 2019.