TIRANA (Albania), April 2 (SeeNews) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that it will grant a 9.1 million euros ($ 10.7 million) loan to the company Albanian public utility Korporata Elektroenergjitike Shqiptare (KESH) for the construction of a floating photovoltaic (PV) installation.

The loan, which will be granted on a commercial basis to a special-purpose vehicle set up by KESH for the purpose of the project, will finance the construction of the 12.9 MW floating solar park, the first floating photovoltaic power plant of this size in Albania and in the Western Balkans, and help commercialize KESH, the EBRD said in a statement Thursday.

The power station will be located on the surface of the KESH water reservoir of the Vau and Dejes hydroelectric power stations, in the north of the country.

The new energy facility will help make KESH more resilient to climate-induced risks related to hydrology and seasonality, the EBRD said.

KESH owns and operates three large hydropower plants with a total capacity of 1,350 MW which produce almost 70% of Albania’s electricity.

The bank noted that the project also matches Albania’s broader ambition to develop its solar capacity, which resulted in two successful auctions supported by the EBRD: the 140 MW Karavasta project and the Spitalle project of 100 MW.

“The project is remarkable because of its innovative technology, positive environmental impact and business logic. It also has the potential to be replicated in the wider Western Balkans region, which has many hydropower reservoirs,” Francesco Corbo, EBRD’s regional energy manager for the Western Balkans, said.

($ = 0.8491 euro)