A tender process with the aim of installing two new generators at the Dhekelia power plant has begun, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said on Friday.

Speaking after a meeting with executives of the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSO), he said the aim of purchasing the new generators was to limit the cost of purchasing European Union emission rights for the government and to cap the amounts paid for diesel and fuel oil to power the island's grid.

He added that the purchase of new generators was "one of the main axes of measures to reduce electricity costs".

" The EAC is already in the tendering process and we in the ministry have intensified this process and sent the message that the replacement of the machines will begin immediately," he said.

He went into detail, saying the plan was to purchase two “flexible” 40-megawatt generators.

By purchasing two generators, the generators' output can be "easier controlled" because they take less time to start up and therefore do not have to remain running continuously, he said.

When asked about the possible timeframe for installing the generators, he said if the tender for their purchase is awarded "in the next few days", the generators could be installed within the next year .

Outside Dhekelia, he said another factor that will help reduce people's energy costs is the increase in the share of renewable energy in Cyprus' electricity production.

TSO Deputy Chief Operating Officer Harry Zavallis agreed, noting that total installed solar panel power generation capacity increased 21 percent to 967.4 megawatts last year.

Meanwhile, Papanastasiou also called on Cyprus to save energy, even if it is generated from renewable sources.

"Although we produce domestically, we should also save energy. The cheapest energy is the energy that is saved , not the energy we get from the grid or solar panels," he said.

He added that the government also plans to increase the country's energy storage capacity in the hope of avoiding situations like those seen in recent weeks and months, when solar parks were "turned off" because they produced more electricity than was needed.

He said the EAC will install 40 megawatts of storage capacity and has requested the possibility of installing another 40 megawatts, adding that individuals and companies should try to install their own energy storage facilities.

"The aim is to provide other assistance... but at the same time we also expect private individuals to take initiatives to install storage . Storage capacity in the grid needs to be increased so that we can extend the period in which energy comes from renewable sources," he said.

When asked whether there was interest from the private sector in building storage facilities, he said that the transmission system operator had already received more than 20 applications.

“There seems to be a desire to install storage units near solar farms in strategic locations so that we have as much storage capacity as possible,” he said.

The announcement of new generators at the Dhekelia power plant came after residents there protested on Sunday , demanding that the plant be upgraded with "greener machines" to be "less harmful" to both the environment and human health.

Antonis Photi, a mukhtar from nearby Ormidia, said that continuing to operate the power plant in its current form was “unacceptable” and described the current machinery as “outdated”.

" It pollutes the oxygen we breathe and our environment , causing health problems for people in the wider area," he said.

The European Commission had initially asked Cyprus to close the power plant because it was not meeting EU emissions targets. However, when the Cypriot government promised to modernise the plant to reduce emissions, the deadline was extended twice.

Source: CyprusMail.com

Author: Tom Cleaver