In the last five days only, Albania has vaccinated 90 thousand people, which amounts to 150 percent of those vaccinated in the previous three months. Minister of Health Ogerta Manastirliu announced on Thursday that 155,463 have been vaccinated in total. She added that half of vaccine doses received so far by the government have been administered. The government launched the mass vaccination campaign one month ahead of the April 25 elections, while it had kept the process slower during the previous three months. The speeding up was announced after the government purchased 192,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from a Turkish company in late March, which was roughly twice the number of doses received before.  Prime Minister Edi Rama has promised to vaccinate 500 thousand people in two months. Albania has received about 290 thousand vaccine doses by Sinovac, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V. It is now vaccinating people over 70, following priority groups of medical staff, teachers, and those over 80. https://exit.al/en/2021/04/01/albania-speeds-up-vaccination-90k-people-in-5-days-155k-since-january/

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a €9.1 million loan for the construction of 12.9MW floating solar farm in Albania. The farm will be the first floating solar photovoltaic (PV) plant of this size in Albania and the Western Balkans, according to EBRD. The power plant will be built on the Vau i Dejës hydropower plant reservoir, which is managed by Korporata Elektroenergjitike Shqiptare (KESH). The EBRD loan will be provided to a special-purpose vehicle owned by KESH and established for the purpose of the construction of the project. Structured as a project finance loan and provided on a commercial basis, the EBRD loan is the first such financing by an international financial institution and will contribute to the commercialisation of KESH, one of Albania’s biggest state-owned utilities. KESH owns and operates three large hydropower plants with a total capacity of 1,350 MW that account for about 70% of Albania’s domestic generation. The new solar PV plant will contribute to making KESH more resilient to climate-induced risks in relation to hydrology and seasonality, according to EBRD. Francesco Corbo, EBRD Regional Head of Energy for the West Balkans, said: “The project is remarkable because of its innovative technology, positive environmental impact and commercial logic. It also has the potential to be replicated in the broader Western Balkans region, which has many hydropower reservoirs. This is our first opportunity to finance floating solar PV technology and we look forward to many similar projects in the future”. The project also aligns with Albania’s broader ambition to develop its solar capacity, which has resulted in two successful auctions supported by the EBRD and delivering highly competitive tariffs: the 140MW Karavasta project, and the 100MW Spitalle project. The EBRD also mobilised a €315,830 for the project preparation support, including from the green economy project preparation and implementation framework financed by the Austrian government (the DRIVE Fund) and from the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund. Besjan Kadiu, CEO of KESH, added: “The project is of special importance for KESH. It positions the company as a contributor to Albanian and global initiatives to invest in renewable generation using innovative photovoltaic technology that is compatible with hydropower generation. “Although modest in size, the project holds opportunities not only for the further development of public generation assets on a strong commercial, technical and environmental basis, but also showcases the know-how that is required to operate a hybrid hydro-photovoltaic system”. https://www.offshore-energy.biz/ebrd-gives-e9-1m-boost-to-albanian-floating-solar-farm/

The EU and UNICEF have joined forces on a EUR 5 million project to bring relief to vulnerable children and families living in Albania, who’ve been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also running in Turkey, the project aims to support 490,000 children and their parents with better access to public services in the area of education, child development, health, and social protection. In a press release, the UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Afshan Khan said:  “In the Western Balkans and Turkey, UNICEF’s collaboration with the European Union is intended to safeguard children’s right to education, health, and protection and ensure that national systems delivering these services are more equitable, inclusive, and meet the needs of the most vulnerable children and parents. Looking at the period of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, this program is intended to contribute to building more resilient systems in these countries.” The financing will be provided by the EU’s assistance package to the Western Balkans which currently totals more than EU 3.3 billion. https://exit.al/en/2021/04/01/eu-and-unicef-to-support-vulnerable-children-in-turkey-and-albania/