July 11 (SeeNews) - Albania plans to revive the idled Vlora thermal power plant (TPP) by feeding it with gas from the planned Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the country's energy ministry said in a presentation of a master plan for the development of Albania's gas network.
The construction of the $130 million Vlora gas-fired TPP was completed in 2011 but the plant was never put into operation over technical issues. The TPP, with a capacity of 97.167 megawatts, was built with financing provided by the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Investment Bank.
The construction works on the 878 km Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will transport Azeri gas to Europe, were officially launched in May. The TAP pipeline will transport gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field through the last leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi and then crossing Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in southern Italy. TAP's initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year, which could double further on.
Albania's Gas Master Plan, which was financed by an EU grant of 1.1 million euro ($1.2 million), provides different scenarios about the gasification of the country, covering the period until 2040.
It sets as key priorities the construction of the national gas network and the participation in the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline, as well as the gas connection with Kosovo and Macedonia, documents made available to SeeNews by the energy ministry last week indicated.
According to the Master Plan, by 2040 the average annual gas consumption will reach 1.7 billion cubic meters.
Currently, Albania relies solely on hydro power plants to cover its needs.
($=0.9052 euro)