Filenews 10 January 2023 - Chrysanthos Manolis
No substantial development could emerge regarding the exploitation of the three natural gas deposits within block 6 of the Cypriot EEZ from yesterday's meeting of President Anastasiades with a delegation of the French Total, as the manager of the block is the Italian ENI, with a percentage participation in the French.
The news from the meeting came from the energy minister, who informed reporters that Total wants to get involved in the production of electricity from renewable energy sources and, in particular, with photovoltaic panels. He said, without giving further information, that the intention of the French company is to install a large photovoltaic park, together with its partners in Cyprus, to cover a significant percentage of the electricity consumed in the country.
An official confirmed information about Total's intentions did not exist until late yesterday. However, it became known that the delegation of the French company, under vice-president Laurent Vivier , will have a new meeting today with the Minister of Energy, in her office, apparently on the same issues.
The photovoltaic system
From what Mrs. Pilides said to the media yesterday, it follows that Total's plans are in the early stages. The minister said that "it is a process, which needs several permits and other procedures, in order for the project to reach its implementation". She also made reference to the Business Facilitation Unit, with a one-stop shop for RES, which operates in her ministry, indicating that there may have been a reference at the meeting to the desire of the French to expedite - facilitate the licensing and installation of the park.
Ms. Pilides also said that "this project will cover a large percentage in terms of the penetration of RES in the energy mix, given the megawatts that are planned to be installed". However, she did not mention either the megawatt capacity of the park or the location the French want to install it.
However, from the list of photovoltaic parks licensed by CERA, which is posted on its website, it appears that the largest licensed - but not yet installed - park in Cyprus is the one requested by Universal Green Energies Ltd, for 120 megawatts, in an area of the villages of Vasa Kellakiou, Sanida and Asgata (semi-mountainous Limassol). Interestingly, this application has a starting date of November 4, 2022, that is, it was granted very recently. However, it may be that Total or its partners in Cyprus have not yet submitted an application to the regulatory authority.
Some other information that Total was interested in securing a large area of land within the buffer zone separating the free from the occupied areas in order to install a large photovoltaic park there, with a capacity of up to 300 megawatts, was not confirmed.
Discussing...
As far as Total's participation in block 6 of the EEZ and the exploitation of the deposits there are concerned, it does not seem that anything tangible emerged from yesterday's meeting at the Presidential Palace. The energy minister simply said that "we are in a discussion in relation to development. It is still quite early to have a specific plan, but certainly the intense activity will continue in relation to all the actions that need to be taken in 2023 and I believe that the whole process will proceed with fairly fast steps".
