Albania Large Energy Storage

Changing weather patterns over the years have forced the country to import energy to cover domestic needs, as a lack of storage capacity requires Albania to sell its generated power during peak months of production.

According to these, Albania needs to achieve a 52 per cent share of renewables in gross final consumption of energy. To boost energy efficiency and energy savings, it also needs to cap primary energy consumption at 2.6 Mtoe and final energy consumption at 2.4 Mtoe by 2030.

In addition to eliminating the electricity deficit and taking electrification to new sectors, Albania can increase its potential to unlock new industries and investment using clean energy. The country can explore opportunities to produce green hydrogen through solar and wind power.

Opportunities for renewables, and especially for solar and wind energy, are extensive in Albania. According to IRENA's Renewables Readiness Assessment report (2021), the solar radiation is very high throughout most of its territory, with the country enjoying some of Europe's highest number of sunshine hours per year.

While hydropower seems to have been the “forgotten giant of clean electricity” as pointed out by IEA in its Hydropower Special Market Report, Albania, in that respect, on the contrary, has done a great job at harnessing its hydropower potential, which has undoubtedly contributed positively to the decarbonisation of its electricity sector.

Today, Albania remains a net energy importer as domestic energy production is not able to meet demand. When it comes to renewable energy imports, Eurostat data shows that the country ranks 8 th in Europe.