Albania’s 140 MW PV tender concludes with final price of €0.02489/kWh

Albania’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has announced the winner of the tender for the construction of a 140 MW solar power plant in the Karavasta area, in the centre of the country.

According to the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction, which assisted the Albanian government in preparing and holding the tender, French solar company Voltalia secured the project thanks to a bid of €0.02489/kWh. “This price – less than half the ceiling of €55 – confirmed the value of preparing a tender in line with international best practice,” the international lender said.

The solar park will be built on 122ha in the Divjaka municipality, in Remas, and on a further 76ha in the Fier municipality of Libofsha. The government said construction will not affect the protected Karavasta Lagoon.

Under the terms of the tender, half the energy generated by the plant will earn the awarded tariff with the remainder sold on the wholesale energy market.

The procurement exercise is the second tender for large scale solar in Albania. A previous auction, for a 100 MW solar park, was won by India Power in November 2018. Half of that project was awarded a 15-year tariff of €0.0599/kWh with the balance sold on the retail electricity market.

Albania supports rooftop PV through a net metering scheme codified in June.