Panayiotis Rougalas
The Republic of Cyprus has secured €40 million from the Just Transition Fund for energy storage facilities, addressing the inflexibility of its electricity system in storing excess energy from renewables.
Energy Minister George Papanastasiou, in a letter to Parliament, emphasizes the promotion of central and hybrid storage facilities under the "photovoltaics for all" program.
Papanastasiou notes the Ministry's pursuit of assigning central energy storage facilities to the Transmission System Operator (TSO), requiring derogations from EU directives.
The preparatory work for this request is completed and will be submitted to the European Commission soon.
Regarding hybrid storage systems, Papanastasiou anticipates the announcement of an aid plan, with public consultation comments under review.
The "photovoltaics for all" plan targets residential customers with specific consumption and system capacity criteria.
Papanastasiou assures widespread installation of residential photovoltaic systems across Cyprus, with exceptions in limited areas addressed by the Distribution System Operator (DSO).
TSO cuts of excess energy won't affect residential customers with photovoltaic systems, except in emergencies.
The application process time for photovoltaic systems is reduced to 2.5 weeks as of July 2023.
Despite an expected increase in applications, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) anticipates a total response time not exceeding 25 working days, thanks to streamlined procedures and additional resources.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
