George Partasides had years of experience in the renewable energy sector when he took a new challenge at the Energy Ministry in 2023 — to help Cyprus reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
Renewable energy will be vital to this task. With over 300 sunny days a year, solar power has great potential in Cyprus. But the island must first improve its renewable energy supply and the efficiency of its energy market.
Battery storage could help the country a lot. The Energy Ministry is working on a "behind the meter" initiative that uses batteries to store electricity from commercial solar panel projects across the country. The solar power collected in batteries would be used, for example, at night when the sun is down or in periods of high demand. The initiative received a €40 million grant in 2024 from the European Union’s Just Transition Fund.
In 2019, Cyprus identified a big need to add electricity storage to its long-term energy plans.
“Energy storage is something new for Cyprus,” - says Partasides, an energy specialist in the Energy Ministry: "Promoting behind-the-meter hybrid systems reduces dependence on the grid."
EIB Advisory, through its JASPERS programme, which is partly funded by the European Commission, provided technical assistance to the Energy Ministry to develop an electricity storage plan.
Batteries bring a lot of benefits to the electricity grid
"If you have overcapacity and no market to sell this extra electricity, all of it is lost,” - Partasides says. “The installation of energy storage systems benefits not only the owners of such systems, but also the broader public — especially residential consumers. These systems free up capacity on the grid and ensure more reliable electricity supply, particularly for households.”
The Energy Ministry is offering grants to help install battery systems with commercial and industrial solar power projects. The grants are part of Cyprus's broader plan to integrate renewable energy into the national grid, improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. More information on the grants is available here.
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A more stable grid
Implementing a nationwide battery storage plan is not easy. EIB Advisory staff helped the ministry design the energy storage plan with new evaluation and financing tools and use the €40 million grant from the European Union.
“It is essential that EU grants do not distort the electricity market in Cyprus,” says Nikolay Danev, a senior economist at the European Investment Bank. “The new scheme aims to strengthen grid stability, integrate renewable energy and foster a competitive market.”
Batteries help improve grid stability by storing excess power when it’s not needed and then releasing it during peak times. This leads to a more sustainable system and lower energy bills in homes and businesses, because the prices of electricity are higher during periods of peak demand.
The batteries installed under the programme could provide up to 300 MWh of electricity storage per year, increasing the supply of renewable energy by 2% to 3%, the ministry says. The grant programme has received 13 applications, with total energy storage capability of about 100 MWh.
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LEAPFROG ASIA AND AFRICA CLIMATE TRANSITION FUND
The project consists in an equity participation in Leapfrog Asia and Africa Climate Transition Fund, a growth equity fund with a target size of USD 600m (approx. EUR 560m) investments, that focuses on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps supporting climate action and environmental sustainability in Asia and Africa.
