PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias was yesterday at the State Fair in Nicosia to open two exhibitions aimed at presenting products and methods that can contribute to saving energy and water.
Organised by the Commerce Ministry and the Federation of Employers and Industrialists (OEV), the SAVeNERGY and Envirotec fairs are open to the public, free of charge, until tomorrow, from 3pm to 10pm
This is the fourth consecutive year that the fairs are taking place, with more than 25,000 people showing up last year.
Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou described the fair as extremely important. “The public can easily and under one roof see what’s available in the market and it’s a great place to build up information,” he said.
Over 20 energy-saving products and methods are on show. These include photovoltaic systems, solar panels, hybrid vehicles, biomass, desalination systems, filters and water pumps.
Repeated increases in the international price of oil, coupled with extra electricity consumption during the winter months have been listed as the reasons behind the exceptionally high bills that many consumers have received this month.
According to Energy Regulator Solon Kassinis, 94 per cent of Cyprus’ electricity is imported oil.
And as the General Manager of OEV pointed out, with oil prices continuously rising, the situation can only get worse.
“Sadly, Cyprus is dependent on imported oil; with oil prices currently being so high, this is a burning issue,” said Michalis Pilikos.
Since 2004, the Commerce Ministry’s Grant Scheme for the Promotion of Energy Saving and Renewable Energy Sources has distributed €15 million.
Applications have been steadily increasing, from 952 in 2004 to 11,869 last year.
For this purpose, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) charges €0.22 per consumer for every kilowatt per hour consumed.
The money is put into the above grant scheme, with Andreas Lizides telling the Mail that this has contributed €10 million annually.
“A surplus has been kept in reserve due to the fact that we are now seeing a lot more applications from both companies and individuals,” he said.
On Tuesday, Energy Regulator Costas Ioannou said organisations like the EAC could soon expect the EU to start imposing penalties for failure to meet EU targets on renewable energy, the cost of which would eventually be borne by the consumer.
“State bureaucratic procedures are ultimately to blame, and consumers will have to be prepared for worse,” he said.
“If we don’t see substantial and immediate steps taken for the arrival of natural gas, for the operation of wind parks, on further incentives for photovoltaics and on the tax rate imposed on the EAC, then consumers will see worse days,” he added.
Ioannou noted there was a complete lack of progress on the promotion of renewable energy. He called on the relevant ministries to do more to speed up the process and avoid the imposition of penalties by the EU.
The European Commission has told all Member States that by 2010, renewable energy sources must account for nine per cent of total energy and six per cent of electricity generation, rising to 20 per cent by 2020.
