The photovoltaic park “Blue 1” in the south-western region of Fier is yet another solar power plant already underway as part of the Albanian government policies aimed at diversifying the sources of the renewable energy.
The 50 MW solar power farm in Fier, the third such project of the same size in the same municipality, is a domestic investment worth 43 million euros, due to be followed by another 50MW solar power plant called “Blue 2” as part of the Albanian government ambitions and strategic plan to meet domestic demand and become a net energy exporters in the coming years.
Prime Minister Edi Rama today visited the site where the Blue 1 solar farm is being constructed. The government head was accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, also the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, to learn about more project details and progress of the construction work on the project implementation.
“This is the site of the Blue 1 solar power plant. This is the first privately-owned photovoltaic park, construction of which is already underway. Installation of the solar panels kicked off just a few days ago, as the 50MW solar power facility will stretch throughout the area here.
The project will go on with the construction of the “Blue 2”, another 50MW solar power plant, but in a conversation we were engaged prior to your arrival, plans are being considered to increase the installed capacity to 200 MW, given that the demand for power purchase in the energy market is significantly high and the investors themselves have already signed the initial contracts with leading firms operating in the international energy market, as well as with energy production companies. So, the issue we have been constantly discussing – that they purchased power at higher rates in the market and they sometimes failed to secure sufficient supplies – by signing contracts with the power producers from the photovoltaic parks within the country, they will be able to meet their demand at a proper reasonable price,” the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku said, adding: “The Ministry of Infrastructure is set to launch another tender in June for construction of more photovoltaic parks, in a new format of hybrid tender, with the state no longer providing the land site, but anyway offering the opportunity to bidders to purchase the land in an auction that will open at the lowest price possible.”
Likewise, the tender for construction of the first wind power plant is also to conclude in June, after 16 international companies participated in a first tender and four winners have been selected for the next round and the final winner will be selected by a joint team set up by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and I very much hope we will successfully complete the first tender for the eolic park by mid-June. It is worth noting that in its 2022 report, the Energy Secretariat touted Albania as the country making biggest progress in the region in terms of the international tenders for renewable energy projects and their implementation, taking Albania to a whole new standard and setting an example for other countries in the region,” the Energy and Infrastructure Minister Balluku said.
Among others, Minister Balluku also announced a string of changes to the legal framework on the agricultural lands and sites where such photovoltaic and other power plants can be built. “Under the new decision we have made, a series of essential changes have been introduced as a result of the experience we have all amassed together in this sector. First of all, the future applications should tackle and consolidate the land ownership issue, either leased or under ownership and that should meet the agricultural criteria.
We are also preparing changes to the law on agricultural land to better define the land areas where such photovoltaic panels can be built on or to also encourage investors to construct agro-photovoltaic parks to generate power, but to also cultivate the land area where the plant is installed,” she explained.
Speaking about this aspect, PM Rama said: “This is very crucial as we are witnessing a growing influx of requests from both local and foreign investors for such projects, still there is a set of things one should bear in mind and some people don’t mind them at all; we cannot in any way make agricultural productive land available to installation of solar panels. We would agree to issue the due contract and permit if a set of certain conditions are met, namely for the agro-solar power plants only, or dual-use solar for the simultaneous use of areas of land for both solar photovoltaic power generation and agriculture. In other words, it is about only plants that allow for power generation, as well as for cultivation of the land and energy production would be this way an added value and we will allow it only when, pursuant to clear definitions that are being determined now, the land’s fertility rate be as such for intense agricultural production.
However, I don’t see much happening in this aspect and although not all these dreams will come true for the reasons I already mentioned, but also for other reasons too, because the third reason is the most important of all and it has to do precisely with the market. In other words, we need to gain access to the market. However, the volume of the potential investment projects is huge, just like the plan to make Albania totally energy independent, as well as a net energy exporter is becoming increasingly realistic, taking into consideration that not only these photovoltaic parks, but more investment projects on energy sector are progressing in tandem, starting with the Skavica hydropower plant, which is already underway, to go on with the new wind and solar power plants, as well as other components, including the liquefied gas, which will come into play with the first gasification project that we are drafting together with our Azerbaijani partners. Should the project progress well, it will expand further.”
Prime Minister Rama also dwelled on the need to further strengthen the power distribution system ahead of the summer peak.
“We are currently working in Korça region and we will most likely clear the path to construction of the refinery facility, which will ultimately provide relief and liberate us from the market dictation and will provide us the opportunity to have a more relieved market from this burden and to also have a direct say in price determination. The future looks promising.
We would have made a lot more investments, but we were forced to struggle and keep electricity price unchanged, but people got used with it now and it looks like as if it doesn’t exist, but funds are paid out on daily basis that would otherwise have been earmarked for investment or maintenance to compensate for the price hike. We are again heading to another tough moment, namely the peak of the summer, when all the possible ventilators and air conditioners become operational to cool premises and when the electricity consumption surges significantly. That’s why we should gradually engage in another electricity saving campaign, because the electricity consumption increases both in the peak of winter and summer, not that tourism is also growing and consumption increases significantly along the coastal areas. But this is the least bad thing compared to what we have been through previously,” the Premier said.