POWER March 2020 - 14

GLOBAL MONITOR
losses, " he said. " The losses result from
a combination of technical factors, due
to the overloaded and aged grid infrastructure,
and non-technical
factors,
such as non-payment of electricity consumption.
From 2013, the country has
been taking measures and managing to
gradually reduce the losses in particular
through the recovery system reform
with the support of the World Bank.
From the end of 2018, the country has
taken the strategic reform of liberalization
of the energy sector, " including a
" power exchange with Kosovo, and
market coupling process with Italy,
Montenegro, and Serbia, " he said.
Balluku in late January said the coun3.
The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is expected to be completed this year. It will move natural
gas via Greece and Albania to Italy for further distribution to Europe. Its natural gas supply is
expected to spur economic development in Albania. Courtesy: Albinfo / Creative Commons
Kosovo. North Macedonia's state-owned
electricity transmission system operator
MEPSO late last year invited bids for a
contract to build a 400-kV transmission
line and a new 400/110 kV substation
in the vicinity of Ohrid to provide North
Macedonia with an electricity interconnection
with Albania.
The European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) has approved
a loan of up to €37 million for
the €49 million project; the remaining
€12 million comes from a grant from
the European Union. Luxembourg is
providing funds for technical assistance
to MEPSO. This first North Macedonia
interconnection to Albania is part of a
plan to establish an east-west electricity
transmission corridor connecting
Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania,
Montenegro, and Italy; the section between
Bulgaria and North Macedonia is
already complete. Albania and Montenegro
are connected by a 400-kV line
and the submarine cable between Italy
and Montenegro entered commercial
use late last year.
" The Albanian energy market is undergoing
a full restructuring process
and a deep renovation, " said Gordani.
" The country has huge potential in
alternative
resources. " The
country
last year approved a Consolidated National
Action Plan on Renewable Energy
Sources; Gordani said the plan
focuses mostly on wind and solar
power projects. The country's Ministry
of Infrastructure and Energy recently
launched a tender for the construction
14
of a 140-MW solar power plant in the
Karavasta area, near Fier. The deadline
for bids for the construction, maintenance,
and operation of the plant
is March 16, with the contract to be
awarded in May, according to the ministry,
which said, " The regulated price
will be granted for 15 years and will
certainly be purchased by the energy
distribution operator. "
That project follows the country's first
successful renewable energy auction, a
2018 contract won by a consortium led
by India Power Corp. for the construction
of a 100-MW solar park in the Akerni
area, near Vlora, a southwestern
port city. According to the International
Renewable Energy Agency, Albania
has potential solar power resources of
about 2.4 GW, and what Gordani calls
" technical wind potential " of more than
7.4 GW " by 2030 if low-cost capital is
available. " He said there also is potential
for biomass generation. " The resource
potential for biomass and geothermal
also present interest, but have been
studied to a lesser extent, " Gordani said.
" More concerted efforts are needed to
evaluate the technical and cost-effective
potential for non-hydro renewable energy
resources in order to attract investors
and allow for concessions within
high-potential zones. "
Gordani said losses of electricity on
the grid at present represent more than
21% of total production, highlighting
the need for system upgrades. " Unfortunately,
the Albanian electricity system
is plagued by exorbitant electricity
www.powermag.com
try's plan for renewables, backed by the
EBRD, supports the launch of a study
based on work by the World Bank that
will split Albania into three zones, with
an assessment of the solar potential of
each. The announcement of the tender
for the 140-MW Karavasta project came
just after the country was identified as
the location for a 2-MW floating solar
project, which Norway's Ocean Sun will
build for Statkraft.
-Darrell Proctor is a POWER
associate editor.
POWER Digest
Siemens Buys Out Iberdrola, Readying
to Spin Off Gas and Power and
SGRE Businesses. Siemens AG will
acquire Spanish renewables giant Iberdrola
SA's full 8.1% stake in Siemens
Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE)
in a €1.1 billion deal announced on Feb.
4. While the acquisition is expected
to resolve legal disputes between the
two companies, Siemens and Iberdrola
also signed a cooperation agreement
that covers " certain projects " for wind
power generation and for improving
the distribution grid. " For these projects,
Iberdrola, as a customer of SGRE
and Siemens, will grant these companies
exclusive negotiation rights for a
limited period of time, " Siemens said.
Siemens now plans to contribute all
SGRE's shares to Siemens Energy,
a new company it plans to form this
April when it initiates the spin off of
its lucrative Gas and Power business.
" This move will create a pure-play
energy company with a unique value
proposition in the area of conventional
and renewable energies, " Siemens
said. Siemens Energy, which will then
hold about 67% of the voting rights at
SGRE, will have a two-thirds majority at
the company's annual general meeting.
POWER | March 2020

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POWER March 2020

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