Albania has taken important steps toward diversifying its electricity sources. Last year, 11% of total electricity production came from photovoltaic plants, a record figure.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Enea Karakaçi , visited the Erseka area, where the two photovoltaic parks built through private investment, Erseka Solar Park 1 and Erseka Solar Park 2, have a total capacity of 40 MW , while a third park with a capacity of 70 MW , winner of the energy auction and developed by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, will be operational soon.
Minister Karakaçi announced that these investments are a good example of success, where Albanian entrepreneurs in the energy sector can now not only produce energy through the constructed parks, but, thanks to the Albanian Energy Exchange, can also market it on the free market.
"A local company can increase its capacity and now include a wider range of energy products, not only in production, but also in energy modeling and marketing, and include the energy produced on the exchange, in ALPEX, which when it was created a few years ago had its own doubts about whether it would succeed or not, while today we see that ALPEX is a success story because, in addition to the security of the products it offers, it also creates attractive opportunities because it has already received the necessary energy flows," said Karakaçi.
Company representatives expressed their satisfaction with the return on investment, but also with the support provided through the policies that the Albanian Government has undertaken over the years in the energy sector.
At this point, the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy highlighted some of the innovations already incorporated in the new energy law , approved at the end of June this year, which also responds to the demands of energy producers. "With the new electricity sector law that we approved on June 30 and which has already entered into force, we have introduced and included a requirement that many producers, especially of photovoltaic or renewable energy, are requesting: the inclusion of batteries, to achieve a better balance in all electricity production," Karakaçi added.
Diversifying renewable energy sources and increasing energy capacity is one of the main objectives of the Albanian government, which is focused on making Albania a net energy exporter by 2030.
Minister Karakaçi announced that, in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy will soon hold another photovoltaic (PV) auction . “By the end of 2025, more than 600 megawatts of new PV capacity will have been installed. Today, PV, unlike three or four years ago when its market presence was practically nonexistent, represents more than 11% of the annual total. We will continue to offer new capacity, but we will also hold auctions. Again, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, we plan to hold another PV auction in late 2026 or early 2027, including batteries in the project this year,” emphasized Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Enea Karakaçi.