The project, awarded to the French company Voltalia following an international tender organized by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, aims to diversify the country’s energy sources.

In March 2021, Voltalia won the bid with a price of EUR 29.89 per megawatt-hour for a 15-year period. The photovoltaic park will be built on an area of 120.85 hectares within the Spitallë Industrial Park, near Porto Romano, and will connect to the national transmission grid through a new 110 kV substation and transmission line.

Spitalla Solar is designed to have an installed capacity of 100 MW, of which 70 MW will be purchased by the Albanian Electricity Distribution Operator (OSHEE) under a fixed-price power purchase agreement, while the remaining 30 MW will be sold on the open market.

Voltalia previously won Albania’s first government auction for the Karavasta solar park in 2020, offering a price of EUR 24.89 per MWh.

The Spitalla project is Albania’s second-largest photovoltaic park and is expected to improve the country’s energy balance by reducing reliance on hydropower, which currently accounts for over 90% of electricity production.

Currently, around 10% of Albania’s total energy generation comes from solar power, with the remainder supplied by the Drin River cascade hydropower plants and private concession-operated hydroelectric facilities.

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