- Grants in excess of €20 million for the years 2022-2023. Increased budget by 40% with the prospect of further support
- Minister of Energy: "We aim to help households reduce the cost of their electricity bill"
- Significantly increased sponsorships for residents of mountain communities and vulnerable households significantly reducing the payback time for investment
With an increased budget of 40%, which has the potential to increase even further, and with increased grants of 50%, the Grant Scheme for roof insulation and installation of photovoltaic panels in homes will be announced in the near future. The available budget for the years 2022-2023 is expected to exceed €20 million and has been secured from the Recovery and Resilience Plan "Cyprus_tomorrow". Yesterday, 24 May 2022, the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (MoETI), presented the new Scheme at an online workshop.
Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Ms Natasha Pileidou, in her intervention, stressed that the increase in the budget and the improvement of the provisions of the Plan fall within the huge effort the Government is making to support households to reduce their energy costs. According to the Minister, the Plan will help even more people to install photovoltaic panels and implement energy saving measures to reduce the cost of their electricity bill. "At the same time," she pointed out, "increasing the penetration of renewable energy sources and the energy upgrade of buildings contribute to the implementation of the objectives of the National Strategy for the rapid transition to green energy, which provides, among other things, for the gradual decoupling from fossil fuels and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."
The Grant Scheme to encourage the use of RES and EE in existing dwellings will be retroactive, in a way that ensures the smooth continuation of the corresponding previous Scheme which had expired on 20/12/2021. The implementation period will be until 12/20/2023 or until the available budget is exhausted.
As reported by Energy Service Officer George Tsiametis, the Plan, which is currently under final approval by the relevant agencies involved with the Recovery and Resilience Plan, will provide a grant for the installation of a photovoltaic system in existing homes and/or for roof insulation.
- Beneficiaries are natural persons.
- The installation of photovoltaic systems concerns buildings that have obtained a building permit or planning permission before 1/1/2017. Each kilowatt is subsidised at €375 and the total subsidy that can be guaranteed is €1,500. As part of the policy to support mountain communities, the amounts are increased by 50%. Vulnerable households are subsidised at €1000 per KW, with a maximum grant of €5,000.
- Roof insulation applies to buildings that have obtained a building permit or planning permission before 12/12/2007. The grant may amount to 45% of the eligible costs, with a maximum grant of €2,250. Under the policy to support mountain communities, the amounts are increased by 50%.
- The combination of the two, i.e. installation of photovoltaic panels and roof insulation, concerns buildings with a building permit or planning permission before 12/12/2007. In this case, 55% of the eligible costs are covered for roof insulation, with a maximum grant of €2,750, and €450 per KW installed for the installation of a photovoltaic system, with a maximum grant of €1,800. As part of the policy to support mountain communities, the amounts are increased by 50%. Giving specific examples of the performance of the measures, he said. Based on the amount of the subsidy, estimated at €2,250 and for mountainous areas at €3,375, the payback can be achieved in 2.5 and 1.7 years respectively.
- The installation of a 4 KW photovoltaic system with an indicative investment cost of €5,000 and an annual grid usage cost of €360 per year can result in savings on the electricity bill of €800 per year. With an estimated sponsorship of €1,500 and in the mountains of €2,250, the payback period will be 4.5 and 3.5 years respectively.
- The indicative cost for carrying out the combination of both investments, i.e. roof insulation and photovoltaics, is €10,000.450 and in the mountains €6.825, the payback will be in 3.5 and 2 years respectively as there will be savings in energy consumption of €1.500 per year.
€600 thousand for solar water heaters
The participants of the workshop were also informed about the €600 thousand sponsorship plan. - increased by 35% - for the installation or replacement of solar hot water systems in residential buildings, which was announced from 10 May 2022.
Beneficiaries of the scheme are exclusively natural persons and the grants concern investments in existing residential buildings for which the application for a building permit or planning permission was submitted before 21 May 2022.12.2007.
The Scheme subsidises integrated solar systems (cylinder and solar panels), the installation of which is carried out by certified installers.
The amount of the grant is €450 per house/system (up from €350 last year - an increase of 28.5%), while for houses in mountainous areas the amount is doubled to €900 (up from €700 last year - an increase of 28.5%).
It should be noted that solar hot water systems can provide 70% of the annual hot water needs for a dwelling, with no operating costs and minimal maintenance, contributing significantly to the reduction of electricity costs.
A video of the workshop is posted on the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry's channel on YouTube, where interested parties can learn about all the provisions of the Plan.
Interested parties can download the presentations from the Ministry's website www.meci.gov.cy, where the Guide to the Plan will soon be posted.
(B]PIO
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
