Energy in Cyprus

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 is expanding.

Overview


About 97% of the primary energy use was imported in 2008. 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 in London and his colleagues investigates the long-run equilibrium relationship among international tourism, 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.



Wind power
With a feed-in 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 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, including both photovoltaics and concentrated solar power, 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, Germany 7%, Greece 5%, Portugal 4%, and Malta 1%.

Solar heating is the usage of solar energy to provide space or water heating. Solar heating 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 Germany 120. In 2010 this capacity was the lowest in the EU, with high unutilised domestic energy opportunities: in Finland 4, Latvia 3, Estonia 1, and Lithuania 1. Correspondingly the value was high in Denmark 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 (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 photovoltaics in Cyprus. Among them is the large-scale application of net metering. 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 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.

Interconnectors
The EuroAsia Interconnector will connect Israel, Cyprus, and Greece with a 2000 MW HVDC undersea power cable. It is a leading Project of Common Interest of the European Union and also a priority for the Electricity Highway Interconnector Project. Cyprus, as the last EU member fully isolated from energy interconnections, will be connected to the European network.

The EuroAfrica Interconnector will connect Egypt, 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.