Albania launches auction for 100 MW solar PV park in Spitalle

Albania has launched the auction for the construction of a solar photovoltaic park, with a planned capacity of 100 MW in the area of ​​Spitalle, in the western coastal municipality of Durrës.

The country is pushing forward with the model that already secured the lowest solar power price in Balkans for the construction of the Karavasta solar power plant.

The deadline for bids is February 1

It is the third auction for large solar power plants in the country. In August Albania signed a contract for the 140 MW Karavasta project with Voltalia while the first auction for the project in the Akërni salt flats has been on hold for two years.

After the Karavasta auction, Albania has continued to offer opportunities for foreign investors that have the capacity to invest in such large solar parks, Infrastructure and Energy Minister Belinda Balluku said, according to the ministry.

70% of the electricity will be purchased by the state and 30% will be sold at the market by the producer

The bids will be accepted until February 1 while the public opening of bids is scheduled for March 2.

The auction rules will be similar to competition for the Karavasta solar park.

According to the minister, 70% of the electricity will be purchased by state-owned distribution system operator OSHEE and 30% will be sold at the market by the producer.

The price for the electricity purchased by the OSHEE will be set through the auction, Balluku said.

The solar park will span 120 hectares in the industrial zone in Durrës.

Albania and North Macedonia are still the only countries in the region that organize auctions for renewable energy projects.