Albania’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure has announced that after one year of open auction for windfarm bids, it is the last chance to submit applications before bids open.
The ministry announced that the deadline for submitting applications is 13 June 2022 and bids will open on 20 June. Participation in the process is only open to projects with a minimum capacity of 10MW and a maximum of 75 MW.
“Through this competitive process, MEI will select projects with a total capacity of 100 MW, which will benefit from the support measures described below. The contracting authority may later decide to increase the total tendered capacity to 15MW, ”an announcement from the ministry reads.
The duration of the project will be 15 years after the date commercial operations commence.
Albania’s very first wind turbine was welcomed to the country in April 2021. The “Northern Rock”, a secondhand turbine made by Nordex arrived at the Port of Durres on 9 April, imported by the German Albanian Logistics Agency.
Windpower has been suggested as a great option for Albania that would provide electricity all year round, and it’s supported by the European Commission. Other possible options that are more viable than hydro include solar, biomass, and geothermal.
“The transport of the windmill by GALA is only the beginning of a large build-up of wind parks in Albania in the forthcoming years“, says Manfred Müller, CEO of EMS-Fehn-Group.
Then in March 2022, the Albanian government announced it is working on it first offshore wind project.
Minister of Energy, Belinda Balluku announced that work on the project was underway, and it was being supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The International Renewable Energy Agen (IRENA) said in a 2021 report that Albania has potential to deploy up to 616MW of solar and wind power by 2030 and has a potential of 7GW, three times the amount of energy the country generates currently.
