Albania has issued its first tender for utility-scale onshore wind power plants. The projects will have capacity for individual projects ranging from 10 MW and 75 MW. The cumulative capacity tendered is 100 MW, which may be increased in 150 MW in the future.
Developers have been invited to submit their qualification submissions by mid-June 2022. This will be followed by a request for proposals from applicants successful in the first phase. The announcement of winning bidders is expected to be made in the first half of 2023.
The bidders have also been asked to propose wind power plant sites. To help them with this task, a wind siting study has been prepared, including suitability criteria for the selection of sites, as well as a preliminary high-level screening of unsuitable areas
The Albanian Ministry for Infrastructure and Energy is the implementing authority of the tender. the Albanian authorities are being supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the introduction of competitive procurement processes for renewable energy projects. To date, the EBRD has invested more than EUR1.5 billion in 112 investment projects in the country. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is providing funding for the technical assistance that covers the new tender as well as regulatory work in the energy sector to facilitate the introduction of auctions.