Albanian Ministry of Energy announced that 73 MW hydropower plant Banja has been put into operation, the first of three HPPs on Devoll river within Statkraft’s project worth 535 million euros.
The statement from the Ministry said that Norwegian Statkraft has invested 289 million euros in the project so far. The construction of HPP Banja has started in June 2013, while the construction of second hydropower plant Moglica is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2018.
Devoll hydropower project includes the construction of two HPPs: Banja and Moglice, which should be built in Devoll valley and have combined power output of 256 MW with projected annual electricity generation of 729 GWh, thus increasing Albanian electricity production by some 17 %. The project envisages the construction of the third HPP, but the decision on that investment will be made after the first two plants are completed. The value of the investment in the construction of two HPPs is estimated to 535 million euros. The project was initially co-owned by Statkraft and Austrian EVN. In early 2013, Statkraft acquired EVN’s stake and now is 100 % owner of the project.
