Indian firm bags Albania solar project

Albania, a country in the Balkan peninsula, has selected a group led by India Power Corporation Ltd to build its first solar power project, according to media reports. The project capacity is 100 MW and expected to cost around $79.34 million. Apart from India Power Corporation Ltd, Mining Resources FZE based in the UAE and Hong Kong-based Midami Ltd are among those behind the project. They were chosen as the best combination of technical and financial credibility, price and additional capacity, according to the country's Ministry of Energy. The solar project is expected to be complete in 18 months. Of the 100 MW, 50 MW will be sold to the local distributor at $67.39 per MW for a period of 15 years. The remaining 50 MW will be sold at market prices. More than 90 per cent of Albania's power is generated from rivers and a newly-built power plant but it now wants to install 120 MW of solar and 70 MW of wind power capacity by 2020 to meet its energy requirements.