CYPRUS – Fact Sheet

Policy Background A European energy policy must pursue the objective of a sustainable, competitive and secure supply of energy. If the EU continues on its present course, this key objective will not be attained. In January 2007, the European Commission adopted an energy policy for Europe. This was supported by several documents on different aspects of energy and included an action plan to meet the major energy challenges Europe faces. Each European citizen must be informed of these challenges and the role they should play in meeting them. Renewable energies help combat climate change while increasing security of supply.

Key Issues In , an issue regarding policy integration has been observed, since investments in a new fossil fuel power plant creating excess capacity are under way. Until 2005, measures that proactively supported renewable energy production, such as the New Grant Scheme, were not very ambitious. In Cyprus, targets are not being met. In 2006, a New Enhanced Grant Scheme has been agreed on. The leading RES in Cyprus is PV; has a high potential.

Current national RES target The Action Plan for the Promotion of RES determines that the contribution of RES to the total energy consumption of Cyprus should rise from 4.5% in 1995 to 9% in 2010. The RES-E target to be achieved in 2010 from the EU Directive is 6%. As an indicative target, 1% biofuel by energy content in 2005 has been set.

Progress towards meeting national targets In Cyprus, the RES share of total energy consumption has decreased from 4.5% in 1995 to 4% in 2002. The target for biofuels of 1% by the end of 2005 was not met. The use of biofuels in Cyprus was still at zero percent in 2005.

Main supporting policies RES-E policy in Cyprus is made up of the following components: o New Grant Scheme, valid from 2004 until 2006. A tax of 0.22 €ct/kWh on every category of electricity consumption is in place. The income generated by this tax is used for the promotion of RES. o The New Enhanced Grant Scheme was installed in January 2006. Financial incentives (30-55% of investments) in the form of government grants and feed-in tariffs are part of this scheme. o Operation state aid for supporting electricity produced by biomass has been suggested, and forwarded to the Commission for approval. In order to promote the use of biofuels, a measure has been taken to exempt the biomass percentage of biodiesel from excise duty (as of 2005). The New Enhanced Grant Scheme for Energy Conservation and Promotion of the Use of RES (2006) also provides financial incentives for RES heating and cooling activities. 30-45% of investment in solar systems for central systems, and 40-55% of investment in space heating and cooling can be recovered in this way.

Key renewable energy statistics Electricity from RES : In absolute figures, the amount of electricity generated from renewable energy in Cyprus is negligible (0.27 GWh in 2004). The only source of RES-E currently in place is solar . Installed capacity for PV stood at 0.63 MWp at the end of 2005. This is almost twice the installed PV capacity present at the end of 2004. With 0.81 Wp installed per head of population, Cyprus ranks the 6th highest in the EU per capita.

January 2007 Page 1 of 3 CYPRUS – Renewable Energy Fact Sheet

Electricity generation from renewable energy sources by type (GWh) 5 Biogas Solid biomass Biowaste Geothermal Hydro small-scale Hydro large-scale PV Wind onshore Wind offshore 4

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Electricitygeneration [GWh/year] 1

0 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Source: European Commission http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/share_res_eu_en.htm Biofuels : Biodiesel production capacity in Cyprus stood at 2 kt per year in 2005, with a production level of 1 ktoe annually. Since 2005, there have been no capacity developments. There is currently no bioethanol production. Heating and cooling : In Cyprus, the main source of RES-H is solar thermal. With 20 ktoe in 2004, it dominates the market. Biomass heat has shown a decrease since 1997 and has gone from 9 ktoe in 1997 to almost nothing in 2004. At the moment, there is currently no geothermal heat production in Cyprus.

Penetration 1997 Penetration 2004 Av. Annual (ktoe) (ktoe) growth [%] Biomass heat 9 0 -100% Solar thermal heat 16 20 4% Geothermal heat incl. heat pumps 0 0 -

Source: European Commission http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/share_res_eu_en.htm

For further information To find out more about renewables, go to: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/index_en.html To find out more about the current situation of renewables in the Member States, go to http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/electricity_member_states_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/share_res_eu_en.htm To find out more about support measures, go to http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/support_electricity_en.htm To find out about a project or contact an energy agency in your region, go to http://www.managenergy.net/emap/maphome.html Further fact sheets on Cyprus and other Member States can be found on: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/facts_en.htm

What is meant by…..? RES: Renewable energy sources RES-E: Electricity production from renewable energy sources

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RES-H: Production of heat and cold from renewable energy sources Biofuels : Mainly includes biodiesel and bioethanol Biomass : Includes solid biomass, biowaste and biogas CHP : Combined Heat and Power GWh: gigawatt-hour H&C : Heating and Cooling KWh : kilowatt-hour ktoe : Thousand tonnes of oil equivalent MWp: peak megawatt PV : Photo-voltaic technology for the production of electricity from solar energy Wp: peak watt Disclaimer Views expressed in this document have not been adopted or in any way approved by the European Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission’s views. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this document, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.

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