Cyprus’ transition to renewable energy ‘slow’

Cyprus’ transition to renewable energy sources has thus far been “slow”, environment commissioner Antonia Theodosiou said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a workshop on the future of water, energy, food, and the ecosystem in the Mediterranean region in Larnaca, she was keen to point out that the island “has abundant sunshine, which gives us huge opportunities to exploit solar energy as a sustainable alternative”.

Despite the availability of the natural resources, however, she said Cyprus’ transition to using them to generate electricity has been “slow”, which in turn “limits our ability to reduce carbon emissions”.

She did note that progress is being made, however, pointing out that the proportion of Cyprus’ energy being produced through renewable sources is set to grow from 18 per cent to a target of “at least 23 per cent” by the end of the decade.

To do this, she said, the government has devised an energy transition strategy which “foresees the utilisation of natural gas as a transitional intermediate solution, given the fact that natural gas emits less pollution than fuel oil and is helpful given our current inability to store energy from renewable sources”.

“The energy ministry is moving forward with important measures to increase renewable sources’ penetration, including the introduction of regulatory frameworks for the creation of energy communities.”

She added that these communities “will allow people and both public and private entities to participate in the production, distribution, consumption, and storage of energy in collaboration with local authorities.”

Theodosiou’s comments come after Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (Cera) Andreas Poullikas demanded that Cyprus create a “long-term energy strategy with well-defined objectives”.

“The provision of affordable energy services is key to sustainable development,” Poullikas said, adding that such a plan should “not only support economic growth and improve quality of life but also minimise the environmental and health impacts of human activities”.

“Clean technology solutions are the cornerstone for effectively addressing global risks and challenges,” he added.