Voltalia receives license for Spitalla PV plant in Albania

French renewable energy company Voltalia obtained a 30-year license for its Spitalla solar park at the Albanian port city of Durrës. It won the project at a renewable energy auction in 2021.

In its latest update, the Energy Regulatory Authority (ERE) of Albania authorized Spitalla Solar to generate electricity from a photovoltaic plant of 90 MW. France-based Voltalia has established the firm for a project for which it won state support in 2021.

The solar power auction for the Spitalla site, just north of Durrës, a port city on the Adriatic Sea, was for 100 MW in peak capacity. The renewable energy company started construction works late last year. At the time, it scheduled the commissioning of the facility for the second half of 2027.

Similarly, Voltalia developed and built its Karavasta PV plant of 140 MW in peak terms, won at a previous solar power auction. It is the largest in Albania.

The auctions are for contracts for difference (CfDs), but the winners are actually working with power purchase agreements (PPAs) with fixed prices. A procedure is underway to secure market liquidity, which would enable the switch. Notably, the Albanian Power Exchange (ALPEX) was launched already in April 2023.

Spitalla’s CfD is for 15 years and 70 MW in peak capacity. Voltalia, headquartered in Paris, earlier said it would sell the rest of the output under a long-term contract with buyers in the private sector.

Since last year, there is more electricity generation capacity in private ownership in Albania than in the system under state-controlled utility KESH. Growth in the solar power segment is the biggest factor behind the change.