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It is with great pleasure that I am with you today, representing the President of the Republic, at the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the privately owned photovoltaic park of Aradippou Municipality. The park, with a total capacity of 2.96 MW, is expected to cover part of the Municipality's electricity needs, reducing the cost of the energy it consumes, but also leading Aradippou to a new era, that of the green transition.
At the same time, apart from the benefits that the Municipality will reap, the operation of this large photovoltaic park also contributes to the Government's effort to implement the green growth model it has adopted and to create Green/Energy Communities, as well as to achieve the national energy targets we have set with a horizon of 2030.
As you know, Europe's energy and climate targets are becoming more and more optimistic and Cyprus is called upon to accelerate its efforts towards the green transition. To this end, together with the relevant Ministries, we are working intensively to finalise the revised National Energy and Climate Plan, which lists the existing and additional measures by which Cyprus will achieve these ambitious targets.
In 2022, the year for which we have the most recent official statistics, the share of energy from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the country's gross final consumption reached 19.4%, putting Cyprus in 16th place among the 27 Member States of the Union. In heating/cooling, with a share of 41.6%, Cyprus was ranked 8th among the 27 Member States.
What still remains a particularly difficult issue for our country's energy sector is the penetration of RES in electricity, due to the small and isolated size of the market, the absence of storage systems, as well as the seasonal demand. As a result, the share of RES in electricity amounted to only 17%, ranking Cyprus in 23rd place among the EU countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For the programming period 2021-2027, we as a Ministry have secured European and national resources of about €591 million, which we use in a targeted manner for the purpose of accelerating the green transition and, at the same time, providing practical support to households and businesses. In this context, the One-Stop-Shop for renewable energy and energy storage projects has been set up and is already operating under the Business Facilitation Unit of the Ministry.In addition, the first phase of the online platform for handling the entire permitting process required for renewable energy, storage and building energy efficiency projects has been completed and the procedures for simplifying the permitting procedures for renewable energy projects have been rolled out.
Among other things, we are also using these funds for the expansion, upgrading and digitalisation of networks, the creation of energy storage infrastructure, the operation of the competitive electricity market, the electricity interconnection with Israel and Greece, and the implementation of Grant Schemes for energy efficiency measures and the use of RES in housing, businesses, transport and local government.
In relation to the creation of energy storage infrastructure, the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry has secured €40 million, which will be allocated for the purpose of installing energy storage systems. Storage systems, depending on the services they will offer, can help to solve problems observed in the smooth operation of the grid from intermittent renewable energy production, to limit the intermittency of electricity generated from Renewable Energy Sources and to further their penetration in electricity generation.
The Ministry has put out for public consultation, which ends on 14 June 2024, the framework of the Grant Scheme for the installation of hybrid storage systems in combination with A The announcement of the Plan to start applications is expected to take place in the autumn, following the necessary approvals to be obtained from the State Aid Control Authority and the European Commission.
Let me mention here that also under public consultation is the draft of its Regulatory Decision on the promotion and facilitation of the development of Energy Communities and Renewable Energy Communities. The date for completion of the consultation is again 14 June 2024.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The current period is one of the most difficult in the energy sector. On the one hand we have the environmental challenge, with the consequences of climate change requiring an urgent transition to cleaner forms of energy and minimising the environmental footprint of man-made activities. And on the other hand, in the midst of socio-political unrest and armed conflicts, we have the challenge of ensuring energy sufficiency at a cost affordable to households and businesses. And we must work in a coordinated manner, all stakeholders in the public and private sectors and, of course, local authorities, to implement our commitments on the basis of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal.
Undoubtedly, the initiative of Aradippou Municipality for the installation and operation of the first privately owned photovoltaic park by a Municipality is in the right direction and I would like to congratulate all those involved in its planning and implementation.
Thank you all for your attention.
(GA/EAθ/AFF)
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