State intensifying efforts for seamless green growth

EVEN as Cyprus’ energy future is looking bright, given the discovery and development of natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, the government is intensifying efforts for the seamless transition to viable green growth, Energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Friday.

Addressing the organisers of energy-saving, water technologies, and construction expos – Savenergy, Envirotec, and Ecodomica, respectively – Lakkotrypis said the government has been focusing on reducing the cost of energy to households and businesses.

“The ministry’s policy has led to a significant increase in development of renewable energy source (RES) systems,” he said.

“Preliminary results of calculations of the share of RES in total energy consumption showed it at 9.6 per cent at the end of 2015 – a good result on the way to achieving the national target of 13 per cent by 2020.”

Lakkotrypis described government incentives for energy creation.

“The revised ‘Solar Energy for All’ scheme is currently open, which helped the installation of over 8.800 photovoltaic systems since 2013,” he said.

“Additionally, the scheme on introducing new RES projects into the competitive electricity market expired in August.”

The minister added that the government’s is constantly modifying its energy strategy to accommodate new technologies and developments in international affairs, allowing it to continue planning and implementation of parallel actions, aiming to promote energy storage and saving, energy production by households and businesses, and connecting the country with regional and European electricity systems.

“In this effort, the contribution of various private-sector bodies, is absolutely necessary,” Lakkotrypis said.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.