Society and the Environment

Energy of Albania KESH, the leading electricity producer in the country, is and remains committed to rational and sustainable use of existing resources and the use of new and renewable energy sources whilst in every aspect of its activity guarantees the community and future generations a commitment to preserving environmental integrity and protecting the environment.

In accordance with the principles of Environmental Management System, according to the international standard ISO 14001, KESH follows its social environmental policy as follows:

Activities in KESH units shall be in accordance with the laws, regulations and other applicable environmental requirements of the Republic of Albania.
KESH rigorously manages environmental impacts and employee health for a sustainable development of its social environmental performance:
    • preventing the discharge of substances that harm the environment (soil, air and water);
    • minimizing pollution and reducing at-source pollution and recycling;
• improving existing resources through careful planning and utilization and the creation of new generation resources;
• supporting technological innovation to mitigate environmental impacts during its activities.

KESH pays special attention to monitoring and controlling impacts during production activities in its production units.
KESH trains employees for environmental awareness and health protection and takes the necessary measures to ensure that every corporate employee enforces occupational safety norms and rules during activities in a unit.
KESH provides transparency and information to the local community and civil society on social environmental assessments of new investments with its own or foreign funds.
Each employee of the corporation is responsible for applying the general principles of this policy and for achieving concrete results in environmental management.
KESH remains committed to working with other institutions or companies to implement best practices for environmental protection.
KESH operates according to environmental management practices in order to minimize impacts, giving priority to applying energy efficient procedures through informative, educational materials to raise awareness of the community and future generations.

PROJECT “CONSTRUCTION OF THE FLOATING PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANT OF VAU I DEJES”

In accordance with the objectives set by the Albanian Government in the National Energy Strategy 2017-2030 and the Consolidated National Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources 2019-2020, KESH sh.a. envisages to increase and diversify the production and trade of energy from its renewable sources, in order to increase economic profitability and competition in the domestic or regional market.
For this purpose, in 2018 KESH prepared a pre-feasibility study “On the construction of the Vau i Dejes Floating Photovoltaic Plant”. The plant is planned to be located on the surface of the Vau i Dejes reservoir, the dam and hydropower plant of which are also administered by KESH.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) is considering providing financing to KESH for the Vau i Dejes Floating Solar Plant Project located in the Vau i Dejes reservoir.
The loan will be used to finance the construction of a floating photovoltaic plant with a capacity of 12.9 MWp as well as the accompanying electrical infrastructure, which enables the connection to the 110/220 kV substation of the OST in HPP Vau i Dejës. The surface of the floating plant will be about 12 ha. Compared to the total surface of the reservoir, this represents 0.45% of it. The average annual energy production will be 18855 MWh, which corresponds to the average annual consumption of a city with 10 000 inhabitants.
The floating photovoltaic plant will benefit from the proximity to the Vau i Dejes hydropower plant and its existing infrastructure. These benefits are related to the operation and maintenance and the short distance to the point of connection to the transmission network at the 110/220 kV substation of the TSO at HPP Vau i Dejës.
The project is planned to be designed and built through a single Engineering-Procurement-Construction contract with KESH.
The construction phase is expected to last 8 to 9 months.
The EBRD has engaged a consultancy to conduct an environmental and social evaluation process of the project, including:

o An Environmental & Social Assessment Report
o An Environmental & Social Management Plan
o An Environmental & Social Action Plan
o A Stakeholder Engagement Plan
o A Non-Technical Summary