The Albanian Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy received four new applications regarding the issuance of permits to construct solar power plants in the Balkan country.
The three proposed solar farms will have less than 2 MW installed capacity, allowing energy project initiators to benefit from government support measures. The fourth application concerns an 8 MW power plant.
Three small solar power plants are planned to be built by Parisol sh.p.k., G.S.K SH.P.K. and H&E ENERGY SH.P.K (in partnership with ALBSOLAR SH.P.K).
As sites for the deployment of generating capacities, investors have chosen the village of Grüca (Fieri region), the suburb of Fieri, and the Bisht Kamza district (Durres region), respectively.
The platform for implementing the fourth project, if approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, will also be the municipality of Durres, and the investors mentioned above will be H&E ENERGY SH.P.K and ALBSOLAR SH.P.K.
Representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy announce a steady increase in the number of applications for deploying electricity-generating plants based on solar panels. At the same time, the interest in wind farms is at a more modest level.
The energy crisis that erupted after the events in Ukraine in the spring of 2022 forced governments across Europe, including the Albanian leadership, to focus on diversifying the energy mix.
In the case of Albania, the crisis seems to be pushing more and more companies to invest in alternative/renewable energy sources, apart from hydroelectric power plants, of which the Balkan country has a large number.
But local hydroelectric power plants periodically lose efficiency due to severe droughts, as a result, the Albanian authorities have to import expensive electricity from abroad.
Several solar energy projects are currently underway in Albania, with a total capacity of 570 megawatts when completed. The Prime Minister of the Balkan country, Edi Rama, said in October 2021 that Albania will become a regional leader in the production of electricity using renewable energy sources.
A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) dated 2021 notes that Albania has the potential to deploy wind farms and solar power plants with a capacity of up to 616 MW by 2030.
Moreover, the total potential of the Balkan country in terms of solar and wind energy is 7 GW, which is three times the amount of electricity the country currently produces.