It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to today's event where we will present the Guide to the Grant Scheme for the Energy Upgrading of Houses, with a budget of €35 million.This is the second call of this scheme for the programming period 2021-2027. The first call for €35 million was announced in March 2021 and was successfully completed three months later, with 2,152 applications submitted in the fully automated system we developed for the grant schemes. We are pleased to see that the Scheme is attracting strong interest from our fellow citizens and encouraging them to take permanent and efficient measures that deliver huge energy savings with a commensurate reduction in their electricity and heating bills.
This is a generous scheme that covers up to €32,000 and around 60% of the cost of energy upgrades, while for vulnerable households and mountainous areas 80% of the cost is covered. The inclusion of mountainous areas in the category of beneficiaries for increased sponsorship is one of the innovations of the new notice decided in the context of the Government's policy to support mountainous communities.
We expect that interest will be even greater in this second notice given that citizens, due to the energy crisis and energy price increases, have become much more aware of the need to invest in measures that will reduce their energy costs.
At the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, the conversion of older energy-intensive buildings into high energy efficiency buildings is at the heart of our policy and is one of the pillars of our multidimensional Strategy for a rapid transition to green energy, which aims at the sustainable development of the country, its citizens and businesses. According to the Energy Service's Long Term Building Renovation Strategy, which is currently under review, the potential for energy savings in Cyprus is high, as 91% of all buildings in our country were built before the introduction of minimum energy efficiency requirements. In fact, it is estimated that in our country, residential buildings account for 18% of final energy consumption, while another 12% is due to buildings housing the business community. As far as new buildings are concerned, since 2021 we have upgraded the energy efficiency requirements and now new buildings have almost zero energy consumption.
Clearly, we have a long way to go in the field of energy efficiency, but with our Ministry's Sponsorship Schemes, which encourage relevant thermal insulation investments, we are optimistic that we will gradually achieve very good results.
It is important to mention here that another of our Ministry's Energy Saving and Renewable Energy Grants Scheme has been running in parallel for a year now, and will be in force until the end of 2023, amounting to €70 million. Investments that are attracting more interest than ever from households and businesses due to the energy crisis and the need for access to cheaper electricity. To this end, we have promoted Sponsorship Plans amounting to almost half a billion euros in 2013-2022, more than €200 million in 2021-2022 and another €85 million planned for 2023, in addition to major reforms and projects including. The EuroAsia Interconnector project has secured a European grant of €657 million and another €100 million from the Cyprus_Tomorrow Project.
- The promotion of €80 million Grant Schemes for the development of large-scale green energy production and storage projects.
- The promotion of energy communities for the collective production and consumption of clean energy.
- The promotion of energy communities for the collective production and consumption of clean energy.
- The promotion of energy communities for the collective production and consumption of clean energy. Relevant regulations on this issue are pending from RAEC.
- The modernisation of the Support Plan for Renewable Energy Production. Virtual net metering for households and farmers has already been implemented in the last year and will be extended to commercial and industrial consumers.
- The promotion of the upgrading, modernisation and digitalisation of the transmission network, a project funded with €100 million.
- The compulsory implementation of energy saving measures in the public sector and the announcement of grant schemes for energy upgrading of the public and semi-public sector and schools.
- The promotion of the upgrading and digitalisation of the transmission network, as well as the financing of smart meters with €100 million from the "Cyprus_Tomorrow Plan", as well as the financing of smart meters with €35 million.
- The compulsory implementation of energy saving measures in the public sector and the announcement of grant schemes for energy upgrading of the public and semi-public sector and schools.
As I mentioned before, with the commitment of the employees of the Ministry, we have managed to redesign and digitize our Sponsorship Plans facilitating the whole process, while offering increased sponsorships to all households and almost 100% subsidy to the installation of photovoltaic panels by vulnerable households, the list of which has been increased from 50 thousand to 80 thousand by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers.
I assure you that our Ministry is working with dedication and zeal for the green transition, drawing strength from the encouraging results of the policies and actions we have implemented so far.
As a result of our actions, the European targets of the Republic of Cyprus for 2020 have not only been met, but exceeded. In 2020, the contribution of RES to final energy consumption reached 17% from the target of 13%, while the mandatory target for cumulative end-use energy savings was achieved at a rate of 135%.
In the last year, and until the end of January 2023, the interest in installing photovoltaics and roof insulation has more than doubled compared to 2021. And almost three times as many vulnerable households have applied in 2022 for PV installation subsidies than in the previous year. It is no coincidence that the country had the fourth highest photovoltaic penetration in 2022 among EU countries.
According to the latest statistics we have reached.
- To 18.22% of RES in final energy consumption in 2021 compared to 12.53% in 2019 and 7.91% in 2013.
- To 600 MW of installed RES capacity by 12/2022, tripling compared to 2013.
- To 600 MW of installed RES capacity by 12/2022, tripling compared to 2013. Meanwhile, another 70 commercial RES projects, with a total capacity of 115 MW, are under implementation.
Friends,
Our Ministry's goal is to continue to work hard and through our multi-dimensional energy policy to accelerate Cyprus' transition to a green and circular economy, to enhance the quality of life of our citizens and the competitiveness of our businesses.
This great effort to create a healthier environment for citizens, new green jobs, emerging green investment opportunities and production of cheaper and environmentally friendly electricity is collective and beneficial for all of us.
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For the presentation of the new Residential Energy Upgrade Grant Scheme, click here.
For the presentation "The Importance of Household Energy Saving for Society and the Economy", click here.
(NG/SX)
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