Renewables

Two solar power projects of 150 MW in total launched in Albania

Two solar power 150 MW total Albania

Photo: Andres Siimon on Unsplash

Published

March 15, 2022

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Published:

March 15, 2022

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Greennat Solar Park Ballsh applied for the installation of a 100 MW photovoltaic plant while Agna plans to build a 49.9 MW solar power unit, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania said. Both sites are in Fier county.

Albania has more than enough solar power projects in the pipeline to meet the 220.4 MW in the combined capacity of wind power and photovoltaics that transmission system operator OST expects to connect by 2023. On top of the 570 MW under development so far, three more applications have been submitted to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, with an overall 152 MW.

According to the latest update, a firm called Greennat Solar Park Ballsh applied for the installation of a 100 MW photovoltaic plant in Ballsh in Mallakastër municipality in the district of Fier. Another company, Agna, has expressed interest in building a 49.9 MW solar power unit and submitted a request with the ministry. The site is in Agim near Libofsha in the municipality of Fier.

Most of the sites for utility-scale photovoltaic projects in Albania are in Fier county

The area hosts most of the country’s utility-scale solar power projects. Neither of the two new endeavors benefits from government support, the ministry said.

The third application is for a 2 MW photovoltaic plant. Erni Solar is the developer and it intends to build the facility in the village of Bitinckë near Bilisht in Korça district in Albania’s southeast.

Currently, there is only 23 MW in operational solar power capacity in the entire country. However, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku recently said the construction of the Karavasta plant, of 140 MW, is beginning this month and that it would be finished within 12 months.

The construction of the Karavasta solar power plant is beginning this month and is scheduled to be completed within a year

French company Voltalia won the power purchase agreement and the right to build the facility at an auction in May 2020. It was the best bidder in the next auction as well, one year ago, for photovoltaic plant Spitalle. The unit in the municipality of Durrës in the west of Albania, on the Adriatic coast, is planned for 100 MW in capacity. Karavasta is in Fier.

A two-stage tender is under preparation for 100 MW in wind power, though the available capacity could be increased to as much as 150 MW. Balluku has revealed that Albania is also working on an offshore wind power project.

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