Albania's energy rules are changing in 2026: what to check before you build

General information, as of October 2026. This article summarizes public sources and is not legal advice. Energy law in Albania is in transition and details depend on the specific project. Confirm current rules with the competent authorities and a qualified Albanian lawyer before making commitments.

Anyone planning solar, storage, or agrivoltaics in Albania is building on moving ground. Three developments in 2026 matter most.

What has changed

1. A new Electricity Sector Law

Parliament adopted Law No. 59/2026 "On the Electricity Sector" on 18 June 2026; it entered into force on 15 July 2026 and repealed Law No. 43/2015. According to law-firm summaries, it introduces or reshapes several concepts:

• "Active client" — a broader idea than the "self-producer of renewable energy" under the renewable energy law, and not limited to renewable sources.
• Energy storage and aggregation as regulated activities. Summaries report that storage facilities of 1 MW or less are exempt from storage licensing, and that active clients and other grid-connected producers are likewise exempt from production licensing for installations of that size.
• Approval thresholds reported at the ministerial level for generation up to 10 MW and storage up to 5 MW, with larger projects requiring Council of Ministers approval.
• Energy sharing and re-selling, and civic energy communities, as new or clarified concepts.
• Transition deadlines, for example for unlicensed storage facilities to register with the energy regulator (ERE) and later to apply for a licence.

2. The renewable energy framework continues

Law No. 24/2023 "On the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources" (in force since April 2023, replacing Law No. 7/2017) remains the framework for promoting renewables, covering wind and photovoltaic generation and recognizing renewable energy communities. Secondary legislation under it keeps evolving.

3. Self-consumption compensation is moving

Self-producers have been compensated under a net-metering approach. Reports describe a move toward net billing, where compensation is based on the financial value of energy and where injected and consumed electricity are measured separately. Sources differ on the exact dates — references to the end of 2026 and to early 2027 both appear — so the transition date and the rule for your connection must be checked in the current legal text and ERE decisions.

4. Agrivoltaics on agricultural land

In July 2026, Parliament amended the law on the protection of agricultural land to allow agrivoltaics — and wind plants and energy storage — on agricultural land under conditions. The Council of Ministers is to set the criteria and conditions, procedures for monitoring installations, penalties for violations, and a fee for electricity sold from agrivoltaic plants, which is intended to support an agriculture and rural development program. Reports indicate those implementing rules were still pending at the time of writing.

A checklist before you build

1. Category and size. Where does the project sit against the licensing and approval thresholds — and does a threshold change who must approve it?
2. Legal status. Will the owner be an active client, a self-producer, a producer selling electricity, or part of an energy community? Each has different rights and duties.
3. Grid connection. What are the distribution operator's technical conditions, available capacity, export limits, and metering requirements for your site?
4. Compensation model. Which scheme applies to your connection date — and what happens when the rules change during the project's life?
5. Land. Ownership or lease, land category, agricultural-land restrictions, pasture, protected areas, and any required change of use. For agrivoltaics, have the implementing decisions been published?
6. Storage. Registration or licensing duties, fire-safety requirements, and conformity of batteries with recognized safety standards.
7. Environmental and building permits. Screening or assessment requirements, construction and territorial-planning permits, and public consultation steps where they apply.
8. Contracts. Construction, operation, lease, and power-sale contracts that allocate regulatory-change risk. See contracting for connected infrastructure.
9. Data. Monitoring produces data — who owns it, and does any of it relate to identifiable people? See personal data on an IoT platform.
10. Timing. Ask which version of the rules applies on your application date and which on your commissioning date.

How engineering can lower legal risk

Design choices can keep options open while rules settle:

• Meter import and export separately from day one, so a move to net billing does not require rewiring.
• Build storage-ready — space, cabling, and protection — even if batteries are added later.
• Keep the design modular so a change in thresholds, export limits, or land conditions can be absorbed without starting over.
• Keep commissioning and monitoring records, which support both warranty claims and regulatory evidence.

Our agrivoltaics design article and solar and storage sizing article cover the engineering side.

Sources

• KPMG Albania: New law on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
• Karanović & Partners: Albania adopts new electricity sector law — key changes and new licensing requirements
• pv magazine: Albanian government approves agrivoltaics

Questions about how we design projects for this environment? Write to energy@greecon.earth.