Albania to terminate 17 concession contracts for hydropower projects
Albania’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has found 9 more cases of contract violations during its review of concession agreements for hydropower plants (HPPs). This amounts to 17 concession deals the ministry has started severing, the ministry said on its website. The ministry did not reveal the names of investors in question, the location of […]
Albanian Development Fund launches EU-funded project to secure water supply for 83 villages
The Albanian Development Fund (ADF) has started the implementation of the EUR 39.3 million Rural Water Supply Program (RWSP) III in a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Rrajca water supply scheme. The program aims to solve the problem of water supply for 85,000 rural residents in 15 municipalities in the country, the ADF said […]
Ocean Sun to supply Statkraft with floating solar plant for Albania
Statkraft Albania has signed a contract with Norwegian floating solar technology developer Ocean Sun AS for the delivery of a floating solar plant with a maximum capacity of 2 MW at the Banja reservoir in Albania, Statkraft said in a press release. The solar park will consist of 4 floating units of 0.5 MW each, […]
Energy Community receives complaint against Albania over Kalivac, Pocem hydropower plants
EcoAlbania, Riverwatch and EuroNatur have sent a complaint to the Energy Community (EnC) against the Albanian Government over procedures for the Kalivac and Pocem hydropower projects. The three civil society organizations behind the campaign for the protection of the Vjosa River have raised concerns that the procedures for the two hydropower plants (HPPs) are not […]
Albania freezes new hydropower projects on environmental concerns
Albanian Energy and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku has said she will freeze work on new hydropower plants (HPPs) and launch an investigation into 182 licenses issued to build 440 HPPs. The announcement follows a meeting with residents of Gramsh, who are protesting against the construction of two HPPs on the Devoll river. The plants are […]
KESH gets new CEO as sacking continues in Albanian state-owned power sector
Former chief of the Albanian Development Fund (ADF) Benet Beci has been appointed as new general manager of public power utility KESH, after Agron Hetoja was relieved of duty, local media reported. This is the second major change in leadership of the state-owned power utilities following the appointment of the Belinda Balluku as new infrastructure and […]
New energy minister assumes office, OST general manager resigns
Belinda Balluku, niece of a former high-level communist politician, is the new minister of infrastructure and energy in the Albanian government, and one of her first moves was to request the resignation of Albanian transmission system operator OST general manager Klodian Gradeci. According to portal Exit.al, Gradeci resigned today. The new minister requested Gradeci’s removal in […]
KESH adopts climate risk management plan
Albania’s state-owned power utility KESH, whose production is almost entirely dependent on hydropower plants (HPP), has adopted its first climate risk management plan, a strategic approach to address the challenges posed by rising temperatures and increasing hydrological variability. KESH operates a 1,350 MW hydropower cascade on the Drin River. It is facing challenges due to […]