Should Albania's energy mix include more renewables?

While Albania’s energy mix already features one of the highest shares of renewables in the region owing to its extensive installed hydropower capacity, the essential need remains for a more secure, cost-competitive national energy supply. Diversifying the electricity mix to include more renewables would strengthen Albania’s energy security.

What is Albania's energy mix?

Hydropower accounts for the largest share of the country’s electricity generation, representing around 95% of the Albania’s installed power capacity. This means Albania’s energy mix has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in South East Europe; however, it is also highly dependent on annual rainfall.

What is Albania's energy sector strategy?

In 2018, Albania adopted its National Energy Sector Strategy, which examined various energy development scenarios and set forth a series of key indicators and objectives that will shape Albanian’s energy sector over the period from 2018 to 2030 (Table 2). Most notably, the strategy stipulated a 42% share of renewable energy in the TPES by 2030.

How can Albania improve energy security & climate resilience?

ar and wind resources, which are currently almost entirely untapped.In order to improve energy security and climate resilience and to meet growing energy demand, it is imperative that Albania accelerates the transit to those abundant, available and local, renewable energy sources. Figure

Does Albania have a strong focus on hydro vs non-hydro renewables?

The Albanian Renewable Energy Association, due to the country’s history of hydropower production, has a stronger focus on hydro than non-hydro renewables.

Are solar and wind resources a viable option in Albania?

For solar and wind resources in Albania, economic potential analysis and zoning are lacking. This hinders policy development in setting achievable targets, the appropriate sizing of solar and wind auctions, and least-cost power system planning.