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4.52.   (...) MIE[the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy] can also grant licences for the processing of mineral wastes.

4.57.   To foster the development of the sector, Albania devised a long-term Mining Strategy (2010-2025), which is updated every three years by an action plan adopted by the Council of Ministers. The latest action plan was adopted by Council of Ministers Decision No. 380/2022 and covers the 2022-24 period, and its objective is to create "[a] dynamic, sustainable, growing and harmonious Albanian mining industry that contributes [to] the wealth of the nation and well-being of its people by offering more and better employment opportunities, ensuring environment protection and preservation, and meeting all EU integration standards". (...)

4.58.   (...) The share of hydropower slightly diminished (from 24.4% to 23.1%), but this evolution might not be statistically meaningful in view of the variability of this resource year on year and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy use. (...) The share of biofuels and waste progressed from an already significant base (from 11.3% to 13.33%) and so has the share of solar and wind but from a small base in this case (from 0.6% to 0.8%) and remains marginal for the time being.

4.59.   The overall energy policy of Albania is determined by the National Energy Strategy (2018-30), approved by Council of Ministers Decision No. 480/2018 and the 2021 National Plan for Energy and Climate (2021-30). These two documents define the objectives and goals for increasing the security of energy supply through (i) diversifying energy production by creating a supportive domestic energy market; (ii) reducing the level of technical and non-technical energy losses in the network; (iii) increasing energy efficiency; (iv) increasing the share of energy from renewable sources; (v) reducing the amount of imported energy; (vi) improving energy intensity; and (vii) reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

4.60.   The MIE[the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy] is the authority in charge of these policies. It is assisted by the ERE[the Energy Regulatory Entity], an independent regulatory agency established in 2015; the Energy Efficiency Agency created in 2015; and the mineral resources agency (AKBN), which plays a role in the authorization process for solar and wind power plants.

4.61.   In the specific case of Albania, these two usually distinct subjects can be discussed together because (i) renewable energies (except for biofuels and waste) are used only for electricity generation; and (ii) the electricity production mix during the period under review was uniquely composed of renewable energies, dominantly by hydroelectricity and marginally towards the end of the period by photovoltaic (PV) energy (Chart 4.2). This is not true, however, of electricity imports, which may have a partially thermal origin. The level of the hydro production is highly variable depending on the hydrological conditions, which have become more uncertain with climate change, with total net domestic production of 8,962 GWh in 2021 and 7,002 GWh in 2022.

4.62.   The period under review saw a complete change of the institutional landscape of electricity in Albania and of the relationship between its different – and sometimes new – actors as a consequence of several regulatory evolutions, namely:
(...)
• the creation of two categories of renewable energy producers (priority producers and self producers) as a consequence of the renewable energy law of 2017;
(...)

4.64.   KESH is a 100% state-owned company and the former monopoly. (...) It manages three large hydropower plants on the Drin River, has a capacity of 1448 MW (52% of the total capacity), and a production of 3,859,721 MWh (55.1% of the total production) in 2022. Lanabregas is also a 100% state-owned company, owned by the MIE[the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy], but of a much smaller size. It manages one hydropower plant in the Skanderbeg mountains for a capacity of 5 MW (0.2% of the total capacity) and a production of 25,423 MWh (or 0.36% of the total production) in 2022.

4.65.   IPPs are private hydropower producers (HPPs) that exploit hydropower plants in the form of concessions or under 2 MW of authorizations. This category has existed since 2003. Four companies are licensed as IPPs, three of which are foreign-owned, managing a total of nine plants for an installed capacity of 438 MW (i.e. 15.9% of the total capacity) and a production of 1,159,000 MWh (i.e. 16.55% of the total production) in 2022.

4.66.   Priority producers are renewable energy producers of a small capacity (i.e. under 15 MW for hydro, under 2 MW for PV, and under 3 MW for wind) that benefit from a support scheme by the State, which buys the totality of their production at guaranteed prices set annually by the independent regulator ERE[the Energy Regulatory Entity] (so-called Purchase Power Agreement (PPA)).