Greens slate ‘incoherent’ energy policy

THE GREEN party yesterday slated the government for its “incoherent” energy policy, noting that while the EU was funding a solar energy plant in the north, the Cyprus government had yet to take a decision on solar technology.

“There is no general, bold and ambitious plan for the future. No plan for saving energy, increasing energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy sources,” said a Greens statement.

The ecologists highlighted that the country’s dependence on imported energy was universal and depressing. “Today it’s fuel, tomorrow natural gas, which is in danger of becoming the biggest energy fraud of all times ‘made in Cyprus’,” said the statement.

The Greens pointed out that while the first solar energy park in Cyprus would be built in the north with EU funding, Cabinet had yet to approve the new plan for funding renewable energy sources. They further charged that the government has failed to make its intentions known on developing and implementing solar thermal technology for producing electricity.

Improving public transport and promoting renewable energy could create thousands of new jobs for Cypriots, the party added.

“Why is the government hesitant in adopting such proposals?” they asked.

The Greens have proposed that the government install photovoltaic panels producing up to 10KW to 5,000 houses of poor and large families for free within the next five years.

This measure would lead to savings of up to €1,200 a year in energy costs per household while the surplus energy would be sold to the Electricity Authority. The cost of installing the photovoltaic technology would reach €50 million, compared to the cost of wind parks (€15m). The Greens argue the €35m difference should be seen as part of the government’s social measures, spread out over five years.

The government has to take into account all the factors involved: the environmental benefit, move away from the dependence on fuel, spreading power production to households and the investment involved, added the Greens.

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.