EVN has proposed building three plants on the Devol in Albania with capacities totalling 400MW and generating more than 1000GWh per year. The Albanian government said the proposed plants were in the public interest.

A definitive tendering process is due to start shortly on the hydro developments as part of Albania’s increase in energy projects. The Austrian group said that the approval, following assessment by state authorities, was the first step in developing the ‘sizeable’ hydro power potential of Albania.

Earlier this year, the government of Albania, the federal province of Lower Austria and EVN signed an agreement towards energy developments. EVN hopes to develop energy schemes in the region in a similar model to that of Lower Austria, which is a flexible mix of hydro, renewables and thermal resources, it said.