Electricity in Cyprus is managed by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus. Power is primarily generated at three fuel oil-burning stations but the use of distributed

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

is expanding.

Overview

About 97% of the primary energy use was imported in 2008.IEA Key energy statistics 2010
Page: Country specific indicator numbers from page 48 However, the European Union RES target (2020) for Cypus is 13% giving Cyprus an opportunity to promote its own energy production and increase its energy independence in the near future. According to the national action plan Cyprus expects it will also meet this target. According to the IEA key statistics for 2010, Cypriot energy imports in 2008 were 5 TWh higher than the primary energy use. If correct, this corresponds to about 18% storage capacity of the annual energy use. There was an equal imbalance in 2007.

Renewable energy

A recent scientific article published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews in 2014 by Prof. Mete Feridun of

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along wi ...

in London and his colleagues investigates the long-run equilibrium relationship among

international tourism International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalization has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual ...

, energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions (), and the direction of causality among these variables. The authors report evidence that international tourism is a catalyst for energy consumption and for an increase in the level of carbon dioxide emissions in Cyprus. In 2021 Cyprus, amongst the EU members, was one of the least producing renewable energy. The table below shows the renewable electricity generation in Cyprus since 2010 as a percentage of the total electricity generation, according to

Eurostat Eurostat ("European Statistical Office"; also DG ESTAT) is a department of the European Commission ( Directorate-General), located in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statist ...

Wind power

With a

feed-in tariff A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...

for large wind power plants, the Cypriot National Renewable Energy Action Plan targets a total of 6.8% of its renewable electricity share from

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

by 2020. In 2005 there was no wind energy; in 2010 it totaled 3.5% of electricity. The average target for all EU countries by 2020 is 14%.

Solar

The Cypriot target of

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

, including both

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commerciall ...

and

concentrated solar power Concentrated solar power (CSP, also known as concentrating solar power, concentrated solar thermal) systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated whe ...

, is a combined 7% of electricity by 2020, which will be one of the top percentages in the European Union markets. Respective targets are 8% for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

7%,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

5%,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

4%, and

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

1%. Solar heating is the usage of solar energy to provide space or

water heating Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated t ...

Solar heating A solar thermal collector collects heat by Absorption (optics), absorbing sunlight. The term "solar collector" commonly refers to a device for solar hot water panel, solar hot water heating, but may refer to large power generating installations ...

per capita in 2010 was for Cyprus the highest of all European countries: 611 W per capita. The corresponding value in other top EU countries included Austria at 385, Greece 253 and

120. In 2010 this capacity was the lowest in the EU, with high unutilised domestic energy opportunities: in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

4, Latvia 3,

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

1, and Lithuania 1. Correspondingly the value was high in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

with 68. The number of photovoltaic systems in Cyprus rose by 66% in the year to July 2023, to over 45,000, with a capacity of 256 MW, the systems being used by each customer, including commercial, to reduce their electricity bill through an agreement of net-metering. The

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(UNDP) in Cyprus installed a 15 KW photovoltaic system at its offices. The park cost US$30,000 and is now connected to the grid.

Net metering

In 2011 the Cypriot Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) announced a number of steps aimed at facilitating development of

in Cyprus. Among them is the large-scale application of

net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly impor ...

. CERA aims to reduce electricity prices for the households where net metering is applied, via fuel saving and carbon dioxide reduction. Cyprus introduced net metering as pilot program in 2012. The program concerns selected governmental buildings and a few communities only. Its goal was to gain significant experience and knowledge on how to run the electricity grid using net metering. The University of Cyprus announced plans for a second 10 to 13 MW solar park in 2013 and that it will lead a €1.3 million research program into the adoption of net metering across the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. The UoC will also lead an EU-funded European research program on promoting net metering policies. The university has signed a memorandum of co-operation with the Bishopric of Tamasos and Orini of the Church of Cyprus, to develop a photovoltaic park in the Cypriot capital of

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

Interconnectors

The EuroAsia Interconnector will connect

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, and

with a 2000 MW

HVDC A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating current (AC) transmission systems. Most HVDC links use voltages betwe ...

undersea power cable.The EuroAsia Interconnector document
/ref> It is a leading Project of Common Interest of the

and also a priority for the Electricity Highway Interconnector Project.EU Projects by country
/ref>Funding for Projects of Common Interest
/ref>

, as the last EU member fully isolated from energy interconnections, will be connected to the European network. The EuroAfrica Interconnector will connect

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, Cyprus, and Greece with another 2000 MW HVDC undersea power cable. These projects will allow Cyprus to use cheaper and cleaner electricity from the mainland rather than burn imported oil in less-efficient, dirtier generators.

References

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