EUR 54 million project to establish the first wind park, in Kurbin

The Albanian government announced that it will establish wind turbines in the Kurbin area, aiming the construction of the first eolic park in the country for producing wind power. The Ministry of Energy and Industry proposed this plan which got approved by the government and featured at the Official Bulletin. A company will build the wind park which will contain 12 windmills, each one 92 meters of altitude at a total cost investment of EUR 54 million.

The park will be constructed within 8 months from the beginning of works and the construction company will have to report the performance of works at the Ministry of Energy and Industry. The wind park will have an installed energy of 36 Megawatt and it is expected to be active for the 30 upcoming years.

According to the Albania Energy Association, Albania has the right conditions for the establishment of wind turbines since the main part of the territory (approximately 2/3 of the whole surface) is hilly-mountainous tending to be more mountainous towards East. The costal line is 345 km in the direction of North – South. The major part of it lies along the field coast part, and the other part is near the south mountainous coast. The main directions of the wind are Northwest – Southeast and Southwest – Northeast, with a dominating direction from sea towards. Inside the territory, the direction and the wind intensity vary considerably from one location to another.

Sources from the Albania Energy Association cite that “Based on the actual conditions of Albania, it is foreseen that 4% of the total amount of electric energy produced in country (around 400 GWh/year) until 2025 to be produced from wind. It is assumed that a priority will be given to the buildings of 20 Wind Electro Central (WEC) near 20 pumping stations located along the Adriatic Sea, avoiding flooding protection as well. A considerable number of areas with high wind energy potentials are identified in the Seaside Lowland, near these 20 pumping stations are located (that looking for 30 GWh/year or 0.7% of the actual national electric energy production) (Mitrushi 2006).”

News source: ATA

Photo credits: Arunas Sakalauskas / Wikimedia