Strengthening Albania’s energy security

In Albania we have established the preferred configuration, and carried out front end engineering design (FEED), for a proposed new hydropower plant for our client Bechtel and national power provider KESH. The Skavica dam will become the controlling dam to an existing three-plant cascade system. Thanks to computer models we’ve developed specifically for hydropower projects for power and energy modelling, and detailed hydrological, topographical and geological studies, we have been able to evaluate a range of options. It’s allowed us to pick out the strengths and weaknesses of each to provide guidance and decision-making support for our client. This includes recommending a preferred dam, which at up to 162m high would be one of the tallest of its type in the world. In a challenging location featuring seismic risk, fractured karstic geology and steep slopes, our experts have used other emerging technologies to map out and survey the proposed layouts for the project including the dam, headrace tunnel, powerhouse and the switchyard. And while this technology has reduced uncertainty, it has also prevented exposing operatives to potentially dangerous conditions compared with a conventional roped access survey approach. The completed FEED for the Skavica Hydropower Project is likely to well position KESH to help provide energy security for thousands across Albania as well as improve flood resilience across the Drin River catchment. “This is an extremely demanding project technically,” says project manager Phillip Harvey. “The seismic, geological and hydrological conditions have made it one of the most challenging of my career.”