Photo: Darmau Lee on Unsplash
Kosovo Energy Corp. plans to install a solar power plant of up to 100 MW where it used to dump ash and the overburden from coal mining. German development agency GTAI is looking for a consultant for the project financed by KfW.
Qualified independent consultants can submit prequalification documents by October 7 for consulting services for a project called Solar4Kosovo 1 – Photovoltaics. The call was issued by Germany Trade and Invest or GTAI, Germany’s development agency.
KfW Development Bank is financing the project for a 70 MW solar thermal facility for district heating company Termokos and a solar power plant of up to 100 MW for Kosovo Energy Corp. (KEK), both controlled by the government in Prishtina.
Solar4Kosovo project involves revitalization of coal industry’s dump sites
Former ash dump fields in the vicinity of thermal power plant Kosovo A and former overburden dump Dragodan need to be revitalized for the construction of the photovoltaic unit, the announcement adds. They span 150 hectares. The future solar power plant’s annual output is estimated at 145 GWh. The agency added there is a possibility to install a complementary storage system for heat or even electricity, with a capacity of 50 MWh, as part of Solar4Kosovo.
A storage system for heat or even electricity could be added to the solar power plant
The consultant will help with concept preparation, tendering, engineering, construction and commissioning supervision to ensure the implementation of the project with respect to time, cost and quality. It will fulfill the role of a FIDIC engineer, which means standards from the FIDIC Yellow Book of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers would be applied.
Government is searching for more financing sources
Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli earlier said the government would apply with the European Union’s Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) for funds for KEK to build the 100 MW solar power plant. The EU funds will be combined with financing from KfW and the utility will participate with EUR 5 million, she added.
Separately, Kosovo* is working on a project for batteries with a total capacity of 200 MWh for storing surplus electricity and stabilizing the frequency in the transmission system. The two existing coal plants are old and unreliable, so the government and energy companies are developing solutions to replace the polluting fossil fuel with clean sources.
In December 2020, Germany approved EUR 72.1 million for Kosovo*, of which EUR 34 million in grants. At the time, EUR 24 million was allocated for a loan for Termokos for its solar thermal project.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
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