Hybrid photovoltaic auction/ Balluku gives the details: No state asset is committed

2024-07-10 15:46:00, Aktualitet CNA

Hybrid photovoltaic auction/ Balluku gives the details: No state asset is

Belinda Balluku

Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, during her speech at the hybrid photovoltaic auction, said that Albania has the capacity to produce more energy from photovoltaic parks.

Balluku said that projects in the electrical energy sector are very important in terms of direction and of course increasing energy security, calling this sector the weapon that dominates the world.

Balluku emphasized that our country has been evaluated by all international partners as a success story in the development of open auctions, for the construction of renewable energy sources for all the countries of the Western Balkans and the member countries of the Energy Community, taking as an example reference in this regard.

The number two of the government underlined that, in addition to the transparency and European criteria that have been established, record prices have also been obtained through these auctions, recalling here the case of Voltalia in Karavasta, where the fixed price is 24.89 euros per megawatt, a record price for all of Europe .

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has a clear strategy that aims for solar generating capacities to reach an additional 1 gigawatt through clean, transparent and competitive procedures.

The hybrid auction that has been developed today is the largest developed in the country and where the Albanian state does not engage any state assets, so it is called hybrid.

The full speech of the Deputy Prime Minister

Our ambitious projects in the electric energy sector have brought us together again today on this hot July day, when temperatures have reached records, as if to show us that Albania has even more capacity to produce from photovoltaic parks.

Today is a very important day for the Albanian electricity sector, as it is the crowning of a long and challenging work for one of the most important projects, in terms of direction and of course the increase of energy security, which as I often repeat , in 2022 we were clearly shown that energy is the weapon now and it is no longer conventional weapons that dominate the world.

Sot këtu të gjithë së bashku duhet të shpallim fituesin apo fituesit e ankandit më të madh fotovoltaik të zhvilluar deri më tash në vendin tonë, një ankand prej 300 megavatorësh, duke hedhur një hap tjetër shumë të rëndësishëm në politikat e shtetit shqiptar për shndërrimin e vendit tonë në një vend eksportues neto të energjisë. Tashmë vendi ynë është vlerësuar nga të gjithë partnerët tanë ndërkombëtarë si një histori suksesi në zhvillimin e ankandeve të hapura, për ndërtimin e burimeve të rinovueshme të energjisë për të gjitha vendet e Ballkanit Perëndimor dhe vendet anëtare të Komunitetit të Energjisë, duke u marrë shembull reference në këtë drejtim.

Në këtë proces kemi aplikuar dhe ndjekur praktikat më të mira ndërkombëtare, duke pasur në çdo hap mbështetjen dhe konsulencën profesionale të BERZH, si dhe asistencën e Ambasadës Zvicerane, përmes SECO, të cilët gjej rastin t'i falënderoj, pasi tashmë janë kthyer në partnerët tanë tradicionalë për zhvillimin e fushës energjetike shqiptare. Pikërisht transparenca dhe korrektësia që kemi ndjekur gjatë këtyre proceseve, ka bërë që të sigurojmë një pjesëmarrje domethënëse të kompanive të mëdha prestigjioze ndërkombëtare në fushën elektroenergjetike.

Është rasti këtu të kujtojmë rrugëtimin që kemi bërë së bashku këto 5 vitet e fundit dhe për të thënë të drejtën unë ndihem krenare për të gjithë skuadrën e Ministrisë së Infrastrukturës dhe Energjisë, për parametrat dhe kriteret që janë vendosur, për një standard, i cili tashmë është i padiskutueshëm dhe nuk do të jetë më në dorë të askujt për ta ndryshuar këtë standard. Është një standard që i takon sistemit elektroenergjetik shqiptar dhe Shqipërisë.

Dua të kujtoj që kur nisëm në 2019 proceset e ankandeve fotovoltaike ka pasur rezerva nga kompanitë ndërkombëtare, ka pasur rezerva edhe nga bashkëpunëtorët tanë, ata që sot na mbështesin fuqimisht siç është BERZH-i apo SECO, duke qenë se ishin hapat e parë dhe duke qenë se perceptimi për Shqipërinë gjithmonë është i gabuar dhe nuk është ai që në vërtetë ndodh. Por me punën që është kryer, siç e thamë, sot Shqipëria merret si një rast studimor. Se si një vend, i cili gjeneron 100% energji të rinovueshme vazhdon me persistim në një rrugë shumë të qartë për të diversifikuar këtë portofol, pra nga portofoli hidrologjik, në atë solar dhe eolik.

Kështu që dua të përmend 2 procedura të suksesshme që ne kemi kryer në vitet e mëparshme që kanë qenë dy parqe fotovoltaike të një madhësie të konsiderueshme, siç është ai i Karavastasë 140 megavatorë, ku Republika e Shqipërisë përfiton 50% të prodhimit dhe parku i Spitallës. Parku i Karavastasë ndodhet në operim duke filluar nga muaji shkurt 2024, ndërkohë që parku i Spitallës është në ndërtim e sipër. Një tjetër sukses që kemi shënuar, sidomos jo vetëm për shtimin e kapaciteteve, por edhe për rritjen e sigurisë energjetike përmes diversifikimit është edhe ankandi i kapaciteteve të reja eolike, nga i cili përfituam 222.48 megavatorë.

It must be said that in addition to the transparency and truly European criteria that we have set, we have also benefited from record prices through these auctions, recalling here the case of Voltalia in Karavasta, where the fixed price is 24.89 euros per megawatt, a record price for all of Europe. Meanwhile, it must be said that the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has a clear strategy that aims for the solar generating capacities to reach an additional 1 gigawatt through clean, transparent and competitive procedures.

The hybrid auction that we are concluding today is the largest developed in the country and where the Albanian state does not engage any state assets, so it is called hybrid. If in the two previous auctions, that of Karavasta and Spitalla, the state has made the land available for energy production from these auctions, in this case we have a hybrid auction, where the land has been provided by the interested entities and on the other hand the state is only the buyer of the energy produced by these parks, considering that it is an open competition and we hope to reach a competitive price even today.

We used the same concept in the wind auction of 2023, which was successfully closed last July, where the area for the development of the project was defined, but that each of the participants had the right to do his own study, as he he would wind for 1 year and then bring a project with his own land found by the subject.

You should keep in mind that this auction had a criterion which allows competitors to enter the competition with a park not smaller than 10 megawatts and not larger than 100 megawatts. In this context, the Ministry offers the winner a sale-purchase contract of electricity for a period of 15 years at an unchanged price. The price to be determined will be the one proposed by the selected bidders. In any case, the price cannot be higher than the set ceiling of 59.97 euros per megawatt.

Regarding the auction development procedure, I must say that we are quite satisfied with the increased interest we have had from national and international companies, mainly European. 14 bidders have submitted offers, of which 9 have qualified, a high rate I would say, and the capacity that these 9 operators have offered is 355.93 megawatts. Based on the documents of the competitive procedure, today we will continue with the opening of financial offers by the Commission and the announcement of the winners of this auction.

The procedures developed by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy with already concrete projects are being made possible and the first data of their impact on the network, of the need to manage energy flows or even the need to continue diversification, of course based on experiences, what we used to see and evaluate only based on the practices of other countries. Today we can say that the installation of new generating capacities from renewable sources has had important developments in our country which can become a point of reference for future developments.

Based on these practices and experiences created today, we can say that the support will definitely continue, but oriented towards a more sustainable activity and based on the best technical practices of the combination of generation and in particular energy storage , technology that not only helps grids, but also improves the sustainability of generation from renewable sources.

Note that we have been incentivizing solar production for years. Of course, at the beginning with modest packages, such as the 2 megawatt packages, which also became a fad, which took us a long time to remove from the minds of Albanian investors and we said that energy is much more than the production of parks 2 megawatts. Today we are moving to another level. Another level which obviously requires this mix of energy, that in addition to hydropower plants, the Drin cascade or other small hydropower plants that contribute significantly to the Albanian energy network, we must have a consolidated production that obviously comes from photovoltaic parks, but always keeping in mind that photovoltaics must be supported by storage units to create the right balance of energy.

And all this will be a future package, which we are working on today in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy. Of course, we will ask for the help and assistance of our partners to understand how a new incentive package can be launched in the market to support all those entities that will want to invest in storage capacities.

And something else that I would like to share with you, as I look here at all the experts that come from the energy field. It is very important that it should already be understood that the great need for increasing solar or wind capacities will definitely be accompanied by a real study of the areas where these capacities can be built. We have had a spontaneous movement during the last years, obviously oriented and coordinated with the state companies operating in the energy field, but from this moment, since the capacities are increasing, since the private initiatives outside the auctions are increasing, since the transmission network will very soon be put in difficulty for the areas where these capacities are raised, you must understand that the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy in the coming months will come out with a real study of the Albanian territory, based on the capacities that we have in transmission and distribution and thus orienting where the other generating units will be built, be they photovoltaic or wind.

Many thanks for your attention today. I thank once again the EBRD and the Swiss embassy, ??through the help they give us with SECO. I thank all my colleagues of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, who have already been doing this process for 5 years, which has turned into an example process for other countries of the Western Balkans, and I hope that today we will reach prices for the purchase of this energy. which exceeds the 300 megawatts for which this auction was launched, as best as possible and helpful for our portfolio that we will then reflect to our citizens./ CNA