AEA Sectors-22

Albania is almost totally dependent on hydropower for electricity generation; nearly 100 per cent of the country’s domestically produced electricity comes from hydropower. Energy demand is expected to increase by 60 per cent in 2020, and there is a clear need for Albania to strengthen its energy security. While efforts to develop new thermal, wind and solar capacity are ongoing, hydropower remains the nation’s largest energy resource.

Albania’s state-owned oil company AlbPetrol estimates Albania’s total oil reserves at roughly 220 million barrels and natural gas reserves at approximately 5.7 billion m3 gas. Albania has one of the largest onshore oil fields in continental Europe and the opportunities for oil and gas explorations have attracted dozens of foreign companies.

The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is a term used to describe planned infrastructure projects aimed at improving the security and diversity of the EU’s energy supply by bringing natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe.The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the most complex gas value chains ever developed in the world. Stretching over 3,500 kilometres, crossing seven countries and involving more than a dozen major energy companies, it is comprised of several separate energy projects representing a total investment of approximately US$45 billion.

The net domestic production of electric power during 2016 was 7,136 GWh from 5,866 GWh produced in 2015, which increased by 21.7 percent. The increase of production of electricity during 2016 resulted on decrease of gross imports by 22.4% and increase of gross exports by 95.5 percent, compared with 2015. During 2016, Albania resulted to be net exporting of electricity, for the first time those last five years

Albania has a considerable energy coming through the solar radiation. This quantity varies from 1200 kWh/m2 in the northeast part of the country (the area than receives the lowest quantity of the solar radiation) up to 1600 kWh/m2 in Myzeqe area, which is the area that has a considerable quantity of this energy kind. The use of the SWHP has been extended in Albania. Surveys carried out show that installed capacity of solar panels in Albania are at 9 MW thermic, which corresponds to an installation surface of 12.000 m2.

The wind energy constitutes a potential opportunity for power production in Albania. The major problem of establishing wind power plant in Albania, is the lack of consecutive measurements of the velocity and duration of the wind. There are many attractive areas identified in Albania, such as Shkodra (Velipoja, Has) , Kukes, Lezha (Ishull Shengjin, Tale, Balldre), Durres (Ishem, P. Romano), Kavaja (Kryevidh), Fier (Seman), Karavasta (Hoxhara 1, Hoxhara 2), Vlore (Akerni), Saranda, Korça and Tepelena.

Biomass potential in our country can be grouped in five main categories:
1. trees and wood wastes from various processes in the wood operation industry
2. plant remains (stalk, seeds, etc..), at the end of their production cycle, that are not used in
other branches of economy
3. energetic vegetables (trees) olive oil, that are planted to be burned as biomass after having reached
their maturity
4. animal wastes (waste, bones, skin) which are not used in other economy branches
5. Urban Waste, industrial waste

Geothermal energy resources in Albania are estimated as warm water sources of the underground soil, which have a sufficient temperature to be used as energy source.
Geothermic situation of Albanide offers two ways to use energy geothermic, separated as follows:
1. thermal sources with low entalpi and maximum temperature up to 80°C. These are natural resources or wells that are located in a vast territory of Albania, from the south, near to the border with Greece northeastern area;
2. deep vertical wells for geothermal energy, where is included a large number of oil and abandoned gas wells, that can be used for heating purposes.

Substantial opportunities for achieving energy reductions and cost savings still remain for existing buildings, particularly in the residential sector. To achieve national targets, a 22% reduction in residential energy use will be required by 2018. Data from Albania’s National Energy Efficiency Plan show that residential usage is driven by electricity, which is being increasingly used for heating in urban areas. According the International Energy Agency, the residential sector represented the highest energy consumption for electricity and heat in Albania in 2011.

Waste as a source, as energy, as a starting point, not as the dead end of a process. If there is something economy, climate, environment and agriculture experts agree upon is that the future belongs to the three R’s: recycling, reuse and reduction of waste. In Albania there is 2.85 MW power plant is located in Elbasan, the project which also rehabilitated Elbasan’s landfill represents the largest and one of the most important engineering projects of its kind in the country.  Also there are work on progress for a second power plant waste to energy, located near Fier.

Albania is not using any storage energy at the moment, even though the capacities are high especially in :
1. Thermal energy storage technologies, allow us to temporarily reserve energy produced in the form of heat or cold for use at a different time.
2. In Pumped Heat Electrical Storage (PHES), electricity is used to drive a storage engine connected to two large thermal stores.
3. Pumped Hydro-Power – Gravity is a powerful, inescapable force that surrounds us at all times – and it also underpins one of the most established energy storage technologies, pumped hydro-power. Currently the most common type of energy storage is pumped hydroelectric facilities.