Cyprus: Guidance issued for 150MW/350MWh energy storage support scheme

The government of Cyprus has published guidelines for a scheme to support the deployment of approximately 150MW/350MWh of energy storage.  

The Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry for the Mediterranean island state in southern Europe published its guide (7 February) for the scheme after the government Council of Ministers approved its total €35 million (US$36.16 million) budget in November.

Called the ‘Grant Scheme for Energy Storage Systems in Combination with Renewable Energy Sources,’ it opens for online submissions on Friday (14 February) and stays open until 28 March.

The scheme, funded by the European Union (EU) Just Transition Fund (JTF), aims to curb the waste of curtailed renewable energy generation, increase the grid’s hosting capacity for renewables, and reduce energy costs through energy storage technologies.

The fund gives financial assistance to the EU Member States expected to be the most adversely affected ‘by the transition toward climate-neutrality.’

The EU and Cyprus agreed in 2023 that a total of €1 billion would be invested in the country between 2021 and 2027 through the JTF.

This was followed a few months later, in July 2023, by the Cypriot Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry setting out its ‘General policy framework for energy storage systems’ through which it said the government would install, own and administer a network of storage throughout the country.

At the same time, the government opened a public consultation on how best to direct funding to support storage systems co-located or hybridised with renewable energy, receiving 117 comments by the time the consultation closed in October.    

Cyprus grant scheme open to feed-in tariff, self-consumption renewable generators

The guide and online applications portal can be accessed through the Cyprus government’s digital services site.

The grant scheme will be open to four categories of renewable energy generation resources:

• Renewable energy source (RES) Production Units receiving a feed-in tariff (FiT) lower than or equal to €166/MWh.
• RES Production Units receiving a FiT between €166/MWh and €250/MWh.
• RES Production Units receiving a FiT between €250/MWh and up to €340/MWh.
• Self-consumption systems using Cyprus’ net-billing or self-generation rules.

Cover photo: Energy Storage News