- They brought investments in commercial RES systems
- They contributed to the increase in PV penetration
- They do not affect the increase in costs of electricity
- In a few months these projects will be integrated into the competitive market
In relation to yesterday's announcement by the National Renewable Energy Commission on the support plans for Renewable Energy Sources, the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry (MoICI) stresses that, aiming to increase the penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the energy balance of Cyprus and to achieve the country's binding targets for 2020, it had proceeded in the years 2017- 2019 with the announcement of support projects for the installation of commercial photovoltaic electricity generation systems, as well as other RES systems.
These projects are considered successful for two reasons. In the first plan of 2017, for which the purchase price is set by RAEK, 76 large projects were approved, with 74 of them, with a capacity of 96.5 MW, starting operation in 2020 and 2021. In early 2022, the last two projects with a capacity of 5 MW will be connected. The largest PV capacity in this plan was completed in the period 2020-2021, so the NEC's claim that "we are in the fifth year of the 2018 plan and the competitive market is not yet operational" is not valid. The 2019 plan does not provide for the setting of a guaranteed price, as it is based on the arrangements of the transitional electricity market. Initially 144 projects were included in this plan, but 132 are progressing. 32 have started operating in 2021, and the remaining 100 systems will be interconnected to the electricity grid at the end of 2022.
- Secondly, together with all the plans to promote renewables, they have contributed not only to meeting our country's binding targets, but also to exceeding them. In particular, the RES contribution to final energy consumption exceeded the 13% target for 2020, reaching 17%, while there was also a 113% increase in RES in final energy consumption compared to 2014.
It is clarified that the commercial photovoltaic parks of both of the aforementioned projects will join the competitive electricity market in a few months from today, when prices will be determined by the market. Therefore any distortions created by the operation of these projects will be automatically addressed through the free market. It is also worth mentioning that the contribution of these projects to the overall cost of electricity is negligible and limited to the second decimal cent per kilowatt hour.
Nevertheless, the Ministry is studying the issue of these contracts and precisely because of the legal aspects involved, legal advice will be sought from the Legal Service within the next few days.
Finally, it should be noted that, in view of the operation of the competitive market and the new legislative framework for the promotion of RES, the Ministry of Energy is considering new projects to support commercial RES, which will operate through the tendering procedure and may be combined with energy storage systems. A draft of the YENEB's proposals on this issue has already been sent to the EU for approval.
(SX)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
