The uniqueness of the electricity grid of Cyprus, which is isolated from the rest of Europe and the wider region, makes energy storage infrastructure an insurmountable need to achieve energy goals, said the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Natasa Peleidou, from the podium of the hybrid conference. for the energy transition, organized by the House of Representatives.
At the same time, a representative of the European Commissioner for Energy, Country Seismon, stressed that Cyprus will need a “dramatic transition” to renewable energy sources as a condition for achieving the goals.
At the same time, the advisor to the President of the Republic for climate change and President of the Cyprus Institute, Costas Pananikolas, warned that the region of Cyprus is at the center of climate change and that if we stay as we are today then the temperature is expected to rise by 5.5 degrees, which will be “hell and a disaster”.
In her speech, Ms. Pileidou said that Cyprus is intensifying its efforts for energy transition while it is in the process of preparing the most ambitious goals based on the goals set by the European regulation Fit for 55.
As he said, the national plan is based on six policy axes. These are the strengthening of the security of energy supply and the lifting of the energy isolation of Cyprus, the operation of the competitive internal market of electricity in October 2022, as well as the internal market of gas, the strengthening of the role of consumers in the energy market and reducing energy costs. incentives to encourage private initiative in investing in households and businesses towards a green and circular economy and promoting energy efficiency and RES projects in the public and wider public sector, promoting and implementing important reforms and new legislation and investment in green technology research and green infrastructure.
“The specificity of the electricity network of Cyprus, which remains isolated from the rest of Europe and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, makes the storage infrastructure an urgent need, as this will ensure both the stability of the network and the achievement of our commitments. “resulting from the European Green Agreement”, he stressed.
According to Ms. Peilidou, as shown by the studies that have been implemented in the framework of the National Plan for Energy and Climate, the use of storage systems in combination with the implementation of the electricity interconnection with Greece and Israel can by 2030 lead to RES penetration in our energy mixture that will exceed 50%.
Ms. Pileidou said that the Ministry of Energy is preparing sponsorship plans for the installation of energy storage systems, adding that in 2022 the first announcements will be made.
As he said, a request has been submitted to secure € 40 million from the fair transfer fund with the possibility of increasing the amount to € 80 million.
In relation to hydrogen, Ms. Peleidou said that a special technical committee has been set up, which will prepare the regulatory framework for hydrogen, which is expected in 2022.
In her greeting, which was read by the MP Costas Costa, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Annita Dimitriou, assured that in cooperation with the competent state services, the academic community and the private companies “we will make every effort to achieve the goals we have undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus in the framework of the Green Agreement “.
As he said, “as a legislature we have a duty, through the establishment of the right legislative framework of appropriate legislation, to create a favorable environment free from bureaucracy, which will ensure transparency and prevent fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest, so that Cyprus attract investment in the sector, but at the same time provide the possibility of effective control, with the ultimate goal of seamless funding from the Recovery and Sustainability Fund “.
“The green transition and sustainable management,” he concluded, “put us on the trajectory of the future and is now the only way forward in terms of our survival, the survival of the planet and the world we will pass on to our children.” We have to give them the right they can dream of the future. “
Speaking from Brussels, the spokeswoman for the European Commissioner for Energy, Countryman Sismon, Mehdi Westofer, said that the EU is the first continent to aim to become environmentally neutral by 2050, implementing a three-pronged strategy: energy efficiency. , enhancing renewable energy and innovation.
For Cyprus, Ms. Westofer said that in 2019, energy from RES corresponded to 0.203 million tons of equivalent oil (Mtoe) to a gross domestic consumption of 2.64 Mtoe, which means that the largest volume of electricity comes from fossil fuels.
“A dramatic shift to RES is a precondition for a substantial development of green hydrogen,” he said, recalling that the climate in Cyprus is very favorable for achieving the goals.
Moreover, answering questions, the representative of the Energy Commissioner acknowledged that Cyprus faces particular challenges, as it is an island state and an isolated system. That is why, he added, despite the TEN-E regulation which provides for the exclusion of a gas project from European funding, Cyprus and Malta, as island states, have been exempted and under certain conditions can have a gas project.
He also noted that the East Med pipeline is under discussion because Cyprus has received an exemption from the TEN-E regulation.
In his own speech, Stavros Papathanassiou, professor in the field of electricity at the National Technical University of Athens, referred to the goals of Cyprus for the penetration of RES, emphasizing that it is clear that the utilization of energy production from RES can not be done without storage. without batteries.
He noted that based on studies and given that Cyprus included € 40 million in the Recovery and Durability Fund for battery systems, there is a funding gap of 50% of the total required expenditure.
“This makes a rate of state aid absolutely necessary,” he said.
Besides, the President of CERA, Andreas Poulikkas, said that the participation of RES is a challenge because it creates other technical challenges besides the financial issues and pointed out the need to implement flexible systems that will fill the gap of RES efficiency.
In the long run, he said that Cyprus should consider the electrical connections with the region. “Given that we achieve up to 80% electricity interconnections by 2050, we could use 100% of electricity with storage technologies by reducing emissions by up to 100%,” he said.
In his speech, Costas Papanikolas, Advisor to President Anastasiadis on Climate Change, said that doing nothing is not an option especially for the Eastern Mediterranean region, which is internationally recognized as a source of tension with global implications and global interest. .
“Our region is not only the region that will strongly accept these phenomena, we are also responsible for it. “The region produces as much greenhouse gas as the EU itself. While the EU is declining, the region is on the rise, as greenhouse gas emissions are rising,” he said, adding that “it is therefore even more urgent at regional level to the world becoming “.
He warned that if we do nothing (business as usual scenario), we will reach up to 5.5 points above the historical average, while the goal worldwide is not to exceed 2 points. “What does 5.5 degrees mean? It's a hell, a desert, a disaster,” he said.
Finally, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, Kyriakos Hatzigiannis, referred to the role of civil society for the green transition, the cost of which is high.
“The energy crisis is causing intense fiscal pressure not only in Cyprus but also globally, but on the other hand it is in the interest of young society to fight for a new perspective,” he said, adding that the energy transition “is a great “A national challenge” and civil society must strive for a development transition focusing on energy justice and diffusion for the benefit of society as a whole, in order to avoid creating inequalities and an excessive result for fewer or for the unions. “
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