Albania launches net metering for solar PV prosumers

Albania has put in place a net metering scheme for solar photovoltaic (PV) prosumers, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has announced.

Albania’s net metering scheme covers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and households with solar PV systems whose capacity does not exceed 500 kW.

The Albanian government expects the scheme to enable the deployment of 200 MW of PV, pv magazine reported.

Eligible projects will be entitled to net metering tariffs equal to electricity market prices with surplus power calculated by distribution system operator (DSO) OSHEE on a monthly basis and final payments at the end of each year.

Net metering originally envisaged under 2017 law

A net metering scheme for photovoltaic (PV) or wind energy with a capacity of up to 500 kW was originally envisaged under Albania’s 2017 law promoting renewable energy, the European Commission said in its latest report on Albania’s alignment with the EU acquis.

This law also introduced schemes to support renewable energy producers above 2 MW (for solar power) and 3 MW (for wind power) through a competitive procedure. The procedure is based on the support scheme ‘contracts for difference’ to be paid on top of the market price of electricity.

Albania’s revised national renewable-energy action plan for 2018-2020 envisages that 38% of gross final energy consumption will come from renewable energy sources, in line with the commitments made to reach 38% renewable energy target in 2020.

However, the European Commission warned in the report that urgent efforts are needed to increase the share of renewable energy sources other than hydropower.

Albania depends almost exclusively on hydropower for its electricity generation (98% of its electricity generation comes from hydropower), making it vulnerable to unfavorable hydrological conditions in the summer. In addition, electricity from hydropower is not sufficient to meet its needs. Albania is a net importer of electricity and ensuring the security of its power supply is a challenge, the European Commission said.