Albanian
Renewable Energy Association (Area)
is a professional organization of renewable energy producers and our motto is
to make Albania the Western Balkans leader in renewable energy. Association is established
on February 2013 by a fund of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
launched by a group of 10 foundation members, with their primary activity
within the renewable energy sector including among others Statkraft Albania. In
only 3 years, AREA-s has grown bringing together currently more than 60
producers – many foreigner investors from Italy, France, Austrian, Turkey, etc.
– focusing mostly in hydropower implants construction with a concession up to
15 MW.
Investments
that today amount around 500 MW installed for more than 650 million euros, and
the numbers are always growing up due to new projects that continuously enters
in operation regime. Notwithstanding the strong capitalise of our investments the
Association aims to represent the interests of all the renewable energy sector in
Albania, including professionals, companies, and other entities nationally and internationally
operating in the renewable energy field in Albania.
The
objectives of the Association are:
– The support
of the development and the growth of the renewable energy sector, endorsing and
promoting the usage of alternative types of energy within the private and
public sectors. In framework of which we represent the needs of all member
companies and entities, being the leading advocate and promoter of the
renewable energy sector in Albania.
– The all
with the aim to promote the sustainable development of Albania by facilitating
market liberalization, legal, regulative and transparency policy improvements
in the way to attract private and foreign investments. The all complete with
the offer a support for the development of high standards of professionalism
and ethical operations among all actors.
In order to achieve the above
objectives, the Association undertake numerous activities, alone or in
partnership with other parties, directly or indirectly, where in particular, we
are engaged:
1. Publishing information on
relevant industry trends and business opportunities; Complete market data and
researches, and R&D opportunities within public and private academic
institutions; Serve as a “portal” for foreign investors, inviting potential
businesses interested in investing in Albania.
2. Promote and develop business
opportunities for Association members, especially small sized businesses, linking
with business opportunities outside the Albania, through networking and
industry/business events; Develop a databases of renewable sources and energy
experts. Become the focal point and coordinator of activities and promote
training opportunities in needed areas; Work to improve the education curricula
at public and private institutions.
3. Lobby on behalf of Association
members and all actors of the renewable sector, in the support the policy and
the guidelines on the best practices of the EU, regard the regulatory
framework, contributing in the identifying and remove of the market barriers on
investments by reducing the risk of regulatory obstacles, in particular through:
– Participation and the involvement
in all the high-level institutional working groups at legislative and
regulatory process; For example the last one as seen the involvement in the Steering
Community of high level Design of Albanian Energy Market Model, kept at the
Ministry of Energy and Industry, with the participation of keys stakeholder in
the energy sector, and in the early consultation process of the draft “Law on
the Promotion of the use of Energy from Renewable Resources”.
– Assessing quantitatively
the progress in continuo made regarding the National Action Plan for Renewable
Energy (NREAP), in compliance with the acquis
of Directive 2009/28/EC, lobbing on effective interventions in order to meet the
trajectory of national renewable energies;
– Presenting
proposal on support measures in accordance with Law no. 138/2013 on Renewable
Energy Sources in order to enable the normal operation of activity with a
reasonable return of the investments;
– Giving our
proposes on the simplifies administrative procedures streamline between
institutions for granting authorizations for producers of renewable energy;
– Encourage
the transparency to investors with respect to access to networks based on the
methodology for necessary procedural measures and the cost of connection to the
nearest point of the network which guaranteed access and priority dispatching
of electricity from renewable sources;
– Lobbing on
reinforcement of investment in network grid for improving the performance by
defining clear procedures in the practice and the quick compensation for the
lack of network capacity;
–
Interventions for the release of guarantees of origin for each unit of energy
produced and the completion of the framework for making them tradable.
The above
action in the regional context, are seeing the involvement through many forms
of partnership and cooperation to support the construction of a stable regional
market and improve of the investment climate through the creation of network in
the energy governance process, strengthening the role of NRA as independent
bodies, the implementation of dispute resolution in the regional energy market
and expanding of the common pan-European energy market.