TIRANA, September 10 – The energy forum of the countries of Southeast Europe gathered in Thessaloniki, Greece, the ministers of the Balkan countries as well as the ambassadors of the US in the region on Saturday.
Albania’s Energy Minister Belinda Balluku put the stress on the need for cooperation between countries and the support of partners to face this crisis together in her contribution to the Forum.
“In 2019, we began to address intensive strategies to build new energy sources based on renewable sources mostly, with the construction of two photovoltaic parks, while we are at the end of the auction for wind parks, supported by the EBRD. These are some of our actions. Also, one of the most important projects that we have already started is the Skavica HPP, which will be the 4th HPP on our largest cascade in the north. The key role of Skavica, in addition to energy production, is the optimization of the cascade,” said Balluku.
She also mentioned another important project, the liquefied gas power plant in Vlora, which will be the first non-renewable project in Albania, but a major contributor to energy security.
The American ambassador to Tirana, Yuri Kim, guaranteed that the US is by Albania’s side in the steps it is taking regarding energy projects. While drawing attention to the project for the construction of the Skavica HPP, Kim said that Albania’s energy future looks promising.
The Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning of North Macedonia, Naser Nuredini, said that regional cooperation remains a key point for overcoming the current energy crisis. /Argumentum.al
