Porto Romano Power Station

The Porto Romano power station is a proposed 800 to 1600 MW coal-fired power station by Italian energy company Enel, to be located in Porto Romano, Albania.

Enel's website states that the project is in development, and includes an Overhead Power Line connecting the plant to the National Grid at Tirana 2 Power Station. A 210 km long Undersea Power Line will connect the plant to the Italian grid.

History
In its 2007 annual report the Italian energy company Enel states that "in Albania, Enel signed a memorandum of understanding with that country’s Ministry for the Economy for the development of a 1,300 MW coal-fired plant and the construction of interconnection to enable the import of a significant portion of its output into Italy."

Later in its annual report the company states that "On December 3, 2007, Enel signed a memorandum of understanding with Albania under which Enel plans to build a cutting-edge thermal generation plant fuelled by imported coal with an estimated capacity of some 1,300 MW. In addition to meeting growing demand in Albania’s domestic market, it will also serve the market in Italy, once the new interconnection lines between the two countries are completed, and those in south-eastern Europe. The new plant will provide Albania with baseload power at competitive costs and making a decisive contribution to rebalancing the mix of the country’s sources of power, which are currently almost entirely accounted for by hydroelectric facilities."

In May 2008, a rapid environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Industrial and Energetic Park at Porto Romano located near Durres – the second largest city in Albania – was released. According to a study produced by the Landell Mills consultancy company, and co-financed by UNDP Albania and the Delegation of the European Commission to Albania, the energy zone was expected to host a TPP.

According to the project's EIA, the station would consist of two 800 MW coal-fired units, a jetty for handling the imported coal, a transmission line connecting the local substation to Tirana's main substation, and an undersea transmission line linking the facility with Italy. Sixty to seventy percent of the produced energy would be exported to the Italian market.

In May 2009, the executive director of Enel stated publicly that the company was planning to construct a coal-fired TPP in Albania. In September 2009, the coal-fired TPP’s EIA was introduced as part of the framework of an assessment study for the Porto Romano Energy Complex.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Europe and coal
 * Global use and production of coal
 * Italy and coal

External Resources

 * "Porto Romano thermo power plant, Albania," BankWatch, May 2009