POWER March 2020 - 13

GLOBAL MONITOR
January 2019 issued a tender seeking a
public-private partnership for a concession
contract to revive the Vlora plant,
likely as a natural gas-fired facility. Gordani
shared with POWER what he called
the latest notice on the project, which
makes known that " Turks of Celik Energi
have withdrawn from negotiations with
the Albanian government to obtain a 20year
concession at the Vlora Power Plant.
... The only ones left at the negotiating
table are the Greeks [with] Mytilineos
Holdings, which has offered a nearly
identical financial offer to the Turks to invest
70 [million] euros [$76.4 million] in
the TPP [thermal power plant], which will
enable its conversion from oil to natural
gas, [along with] cooling turbine repair
and branch construction with [the] TAP
[Trans-Adriatic Pipeline] gas distribution
point in Fier. "
Gordani noted that investment opportunities
in energy in Albania are numerous,
including the efforts to start
the Vlora plant, along with construction
of new generation, including renewable
energy, and upgrades to transmission
lines and the grid. The TAP (Figure 3),
which will deliver gas via Greece and
Albania to Italy for further distribution to
Europe, and is expected to enter operation
this year, likely will increase demand
for gas-fired power and manufacturing
investments in Albania. Gordani said hydropower,
though, will continue to lead
the nation's generation mix.
" The country is rich in water resources
[second in Europe per capita] and hydro
has always been an important national
asset for meeting the country's energy
needs, " he said. Gordani told POWER
that Albania has eight major rivers that
contribute to its hydropower potential.
He said government data shows the
country has granted permits for another
1,785 MW of generation capacity, with
those projects not yet developed. He
said there is an estimate of additional
" hydropower potential studied, still unexploited,
at around 815 MW. "
Gordani said the country's current
" installed hydropower capacity comprises
mainly of large hydropower installations
[that is, above 10 MW in size]
and amounts to 1,904 MW, while small
hydropower installations amount to 192
MW. Located in northern Albania, the
Drin river is the largest river in the
country and hosts three of the largest
hydropower stations: Fierzë [500 MW],
Komani [600 MW], and Vau I Dejës
[250 MW]. "
Over the past decade, the Albanian
government has supported public investments
and other initiatives to address
the power generation sector,
with much of the money coming from
foreign countries, and Balluku appears
to be reinforcing that
effort. Among
the new projects is Devoll Hydropower,
which consists of two hydropower
plants, Banja and Moglicë, in the valley
of Devoll on the Devoll River, with
a total installed capacity of 256 MW.
Devoll Hydropower was initially a 50/50
joint venture between Norway's Statkraft
and the Austrian energy company
EVN. Statkraft in 2013 acquired EVN's
50% share and is now 100% owner of
project. Other hydro projects underway
include the Skavica installation on the
Drin, and the Kalivac and Pocem projects
on the Vjosa River.
The government's new initiatives also
include increased transmission capacity.
Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a
German bank, has financed several projects
in the energy sector in the past decade,
including 400-kV interconnection
lines with neighboring Montenegro and
March 2020 | POWER
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POWER March 2020

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