Plenty of sunshine in Cyprus - an average of 320 days a year they say. Ample vitamin D and no seasonal affective disorder. And should be ideal for solar energy as well. In fact years ago, in the days before everyone had mobile phones, you would see phone booths with a single solar panel positioned above providing the required energy.
And increasingly there are multiple panels on the roofs of houses, businesses, and apartment buildings. Our friend Bill in Pyla used to have seven or eight panels on the roof which pretty well supplied all the electricity the two of them used - some months not quite enough while other months they got a cheque for the excess they had contributed to the grid.
So it comes as a surprise to learn that the Cyprus TSO - transmission system operator - is calling for a halt, albeit temporary, to new photovoltaic installations in residences. In other words no new solar panels despite the waiting list of thousands of those who wish approval to install them. The reason being that the grid is overloaded and in danger of being unstable. As in the country is producing too much electricity? In short, yes. So Bill and his pals are overwhelming the system and there will have to be an end to it. But isn’t it cheap and efficient to capture the sun? What’s the problem? Enter our old friend Cui Bono? Turns out that solar is responsible for about 10% of energy in the Republic. The country’s energy is largely from heavy fuel oil. And presumably it is easier to cut back solar production than mess with fuel oil purchase contracts.
To her credit, Energy Minister Natasa Pilides has objected strongly to any suggestion of halting solar panel installation (which is subsidised) on family homes, but her alternative idea is that there could be temporary stops on solar parks that make a large profit selling power from their giant panels. But that still leaves an excess of electricity and purchased fuel oil.
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