Kosovo* increases ceiling price for first solar power auction

The Energy Regulatory Office of Kosovo* said the maximum bidding price in the first solar power auction would be EUR 75 per MWh. The deadline for investors was pushed back several times.

Kosovo* launched a procedure in May for the selection of a company to build and operate a solar power plant of 90 MW to 105 MW in connection capacity in the municipality of Rahovec (Orahovac). But the deadline was postponed several times: currently it’s January 31.

After analyzing again the solar power market and taking into account the levelized cost of energy (LCOE), the Energy Regulatory Office said it increased the maximum fixed price for the first renewable energy auction to EUR 75 per MWh from EUR 65 per MWh.

Peak capacity estimated at up to 117 MW

The participant that bids the lowest amount gets the right to build and operate a photovoltaic plant on land in the cadastral zones of Kramovik and Petković. According to the results of an earlier survey, the maximum potential peak capacity is 117 MW.

The company will be eligible for a 30-year lease and a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA), the documentation shows. It will have two years to commission the facility.

State-owned electricity companies in Kosovo* entering ALPEX day-ahead market

The PPA shall be converted into a contract for difference (CfD) upon the confirmation from ERO that a liquid functional day-ahead market has been established in Kosovo*, the notice from May reads. Since mid-November, government-controlled Kosovo Energy Corp. (KEK), Transmission, System and Market Operator (KOSTT) and Ibër-Lepenc, which operates the Ujman (Gazivode) hydropower plant, joined the day-ahead market at the Albanian Power Exchange (ALPEX).

The investment was initially valued at EUR 75 million. The renewable electricity auction model was developed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

A wind power auction call is scheduled for next year.