Kosovo to auction 950 MW of renewables, 170 MW of battery storage

Kosovo is planning a series of auctions for renewable energy and battery energy storage systems. Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli has revealed plans for further procurement exercises for 950 MW of renewables, totaling €1.2 billion, after announcing the shortlisted bidders in the nation's first solar auction.

“With the same enthusiasm, we will develop other competitive projects as part of this package, starting with the 150 MW wind auction that we will launch this year,” said Rizvanolli.

Kosovo’s first solar auction for the construction of a 100 MW solar plant in the town of Rahovec attracted six bids, as revealed earlier this week. The plant will be built on public land and will be leased to the successful bidder for up to 30 years, backed by a 15-year power purchase agreement with Pristina-based transmission system operator Kostt.

According to Rizvanolli, more auctions will likely be launched later this year, including one for the construction of a 100 MW solar plant, which will be owned and operated by government-owned public utility Kosovo Energy Corp. Another procurement exercise will seek to deploy a solar district heating project in Pristina.

According to its energy strategy, Kosovo also plans to hold two auctions for battery storage projects with a cumulative capacity of 170 MW. The minister expects that 45 MW/90 MWh and 125 MW/250 MWh battery storage procurement exercises will be launched this year in cooperation with US-based Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC). In 2022, MMC approved a $202 million grant for these projects.

Kosovo aims to source 35% of its electricity from renewables by 2031, up from 6% in 2021, according to the government’s draft strategy. It is looking to add at least 1.2 MW of utility-scale wind and solar projects, alongside 100 MW of rooftop PV capacity.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Kosovo had 10 MW of installed PV capacity at the end of 2022.