The use of water resources for electricity production has been one of the few unchanged policies over the last decade in Albania.
Promises to curb the construction of hydropower plants, especially in protected areas, have been met with a wave of contracts, delayed projects, and clashes with communities.
Citizens brings a complete map of the distribution of hydropower plants that were built in the last 15 years.
Who gains and who loses from their construction? Experience shows that communities around dams do not gain anything, on the contrary.
Governments change, hydroelectric power plants continue
While the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama, in power since 2013, continues to present the development of hydropower plants as a sustainable energy policy, the real balance remains unclear.
After taking power, Rama considered the tendency of the previous government led by Sali Berisha (2005-2013) to grant permits for hydropower plants in protected areas to be "destructive corruption."
He said that 113 permits had been issued in these areas, of which he emphasized that 55 "will not start work" as his pledge that the "policy with hydropower plants" would change.
The Energy Regulatory Authority (ERE) reported at the time that the country had 80 private hydropower plants (2013) with a total capacity of around 240 megawatts (MW).
After this, the Rama government reviewed 103 concession contracts in a long process, after which in 2019 it declared the cancellation of 27 of them, which envisaged the construction of 80 HPPs.
In this period (2019), ERE reported an increase in private hydropower plants: 197 with a capacity of 827 MW.
The government came up with the general judgment that small hydropower plants were useless in terms of energy and harmful to the environment and communities.
"There will no longer be a permit for any HPP under 2 MW in Albania, and it will never again be allowed to affect areas of natural and tourist importance, or communities, in the name of energy production, to the point of the HPP pipes being inserted into the water source," Rama vowed at the time.
But time showed that this commitment was not kept. The government continued to grant permits for small hydroelectric power plants, and even intervened in the law on protected areas, shrinking the territories of national parks in favor of providing water resources for hydroelectric power plants.
Concrete cases are the HPPs in Zall-Gjoçaj or in Kurdari where "HEC Doma" is being built despite community disputes and the fact that it has a capacity of less than 2 MW.
ERE reported in 2024 on 238 private hydropower plants producing electricity.
An increase of 41 HPPs (17.2%) compared to 2019 when the government pledged a controlled approach, 158 HPPs (66.3%) since 2013 when the Socialists took power.
More than half of these plants (58%; 138 HPPs) produce minimal energy (with capacities of 2 or less than 2 MW), and were built despite damage to the environment, water resources, and communities.
Hydropower network in Albania
In the last 15 years, the construction of hydroelectric power plants in Albania has spread throughout the territory. This has affected most municipalities, creating a dense network of pipes and dams on the courses of the country's main rivers.
According to data provided by Citizens.al from 61 municipalities in the country, during this period 211 hydroelectric power plants were put into operation, while 24 others are in the construction process.
This expansion has occurred through contracts signed at various times, often even a decade ago, which continue to be active despite delays, lawsuits, or opposition from local communities.
Meanwhile, the distribution of hydropower plants is not uniform.
Municipalities such as Librazhdi (21), Dibra (19), Korça (15), Maliqi (15), Skrapari (13), Mirdita (12) and Klosi (12) concentrate the highest number of operational hydropower plants, while in some of them new projects are underway, often accompanied by protests and legal conflicts.
Otherwise, 30 other municipalities have not had hydropower developments during this period mainly due to the lack of sustainable water resources, highlighting the dependence of the energy model on mountain rivers.
However, in various areas such as Kukësi (13), Fushë-Arrëzi (10), Mati (8) and Tepelena (5) projects have been reported to be in progress. Most of these projects have been contested, especially in the municipality of Tepelena, where since 2017 a court case has been initiated against the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Nivica River.
The data provided by public authorities are often contradictory, however, they show that the approach to the construction of hydropower plants remains unchanged since 2010 and that the construction of HPPs has continued even after promises to ban new permits, while the role of municipalities remains mainly administrative, without direct influence on decision-making.
The National Agency for Natural Resources (AKBN) told Citizens.al that there are currently over 150 HPP projects in procedures for "completing documentation" or "obtaining permits". This agency, at this point, also archives as projects in process cases that were dismissed by court decisions or the placement of rivers in protected areas, such as: Kalivaçi, Shushica and Poçemi.
In the absence of a comprehensive national assessment of the environmental and social impact of this development model, the hydropower network has now been consolidated as an irreversible reality, accompanied by questions about the long-term sustainability of water resources and the relationship between private investment, local communities and the public interest.
In Kaçinar, Mirdita, the tension that had built up over the years erupted in a full-scale protest at the end of March. Hundreds of residents from surrounding villages, as well as the diaspora, gathered to oppose the construction of four hydroelectric power plants by the concessionaire "Shpërdhaza-Energji".
Residents consider the piped drainage of some of the mountain streams, which have historically been used by the villages, to be a major violation of their lives.
The difficult road to Qafë e Vorres, about 40 minutes away from Rrëshen, where the protest took place, simultaneously showed the degradation of the territory and the tension of the authorities: police checkpoints, car checks, and the unjustified presence of officers.
"They have robbed this people here," Arben Gega, one of the protesters, described the revolt, "but if the Turks haven't made us leave, these people, no way, they won't succeed!".
Gjok Beqiri, from the village of Simon, indicated that the project affects seven villages with over 3,000 families.
The guard booth and security cameras placed around the construction site had created an environment worthy of a military zone, while residents, in the absence of information and faced with the fait accompli, raised suspicions that the company's documentation was not in order.
This concern was shared with Citizens.al by some of them, who said that they were never notified of public hearings, despite the company's claims.
In April, machinery from the company "Shpërdhaza-Energji" entered the nearby forest, an area with a diverse roadside landscape that residents fear could suffer consequences from hydropower plants.
After noticing the first trees felled by the works, they organized other protests, one of which was in Tirana, in front of the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The mayor of Simon village, Gjergj Deda, raised suspicions that the works were being carried out without the necessary permits "because they were searched and accompanied by the police every day."
For the community, water is the essence of life: the mills, the lands, and their history. “I don't forgive my brother, let alone a stranger,” some of them have emphasized.
So they turned to justice. In September, the Lezha Court decided to transfer the case to the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK), declaring it incompetent./Citizens.al
