Interest in energy from renewable sources and especially for solar energy has increased significantly year after year and companies interested in investing have increased in number.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy said it has received an application for a 150MW solar park. The applicant was submitted by local company AGA-SOLAR. The plant is planned to be built near the village of Darzezë e Re in the region of Fier. The deadline for sending comments to the Ministry of Energy is 15 days.

If the application passes the necessary stages and is approved, this would be the park with the largest capacity installed in the country, followed by Karavasta and Spitalla with capacity of 140 MW and 100 MW respectively, which are being implemented by the French company Voltalia. The two parks were guaranteed the purchase of energy for a part of the capacity by the Electricity Distribution Operator (OSHEE) according to the prices that were declared winners during the auction.

The project for the solar park in Darzezë e Re is not supported by the government with any measure which means that it is entirely private investment and will trade energy in the free market.

In March, French renewables company Voltalia won a tender for the construction and operation of a 100 MW solar park in Spitalle area, near the port city of Durres, supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Voltalia will sell 70 MW of the electricity produced at the solar park to Albania's state-owned energy distribution company for 29.89 euro per MWh, well below the price ceiling of 55 euro set in the tender, the energy ministry said in a press release on Thursday. The remainder will be sold in the market.

In May 2020, Voltalia was also selected winner in a tender for the construction and operation of a 140 MW solar power plant in Albania's Karavasta coastal area, in the region of Fier.

The French company has already started preparations for the construction of Karavasta solar park, the Albanian prime minister's office announced in February. The company signed a 30-year concession contract with Albania's government to build and operate the solar power plant on July 31. The cost of the project is estimated at around Euro 128 million.