TIRANA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian government signed here on Friday an agreement with the French renewable company Voltalia to build a 140 megawatt (MW) solar power park in Karavasta, western Albania.
The signing ceremony took place in Prime Minister's Office with the presence of Prime Minister Edi Rama, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku and Sebastien Clerc, Chief Executive Officer of Voltalia.
In his address at the ceremony, Rama called the construction of Karavasta Photovoltaic Park "very good news for the economy and image of the country."
"This agreement paves the way for the construction of the larger solar power plant, where the French company will invest 100 million euros (around 118 million U.S. dollars), starting from September," Rama said.
Voltalia will sell half of the green energy produced to the Albanian state at a subsidized rate of 24.89 euros per megawatt hour for the first 15 years of the contract, while the other half to be sold through another long-term power sale contract negotiated in the market.
Voltalia won the tender for a 30-year concession contract in late May. The tender for this project was launched in January and postponed twice because of the coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing ban on travel. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars) Enditem
