France's Voltalia launches construction of Karavasta solar park in Albania

French renewables company Voltalia said on Friday it is starting the construction of a 140 MW photovoltaic park in Albania's Karavasta coastal area.

Voltalia will sell half of the electricity produced at the solar park under a 15-year contract to the Albanian public grid operator, meeting the needs of 220,000 inhabitants and avoiding the emission of over 96,500 tonnes of CO2 per year, the company said in a press release.

The remaining electricity will be sold through long-term contracts to private operators.

The solar power plant is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2023.

Voltalia signed a 30-year concession contract with Albania's government to build and operate the Karavasta solar power plant in 2020. The cost of the project is estimated at around 128 million euro ($133.8 million).

In 2021, Voltalia also won a tender to build and operate a 100 MW solar park in the Spitalle area, near the port city of Durres.

($ = 0.5969 euro)

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