DAMIANOS' ADMISSION ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF ELECTRICITY ADEQUACY IN THE '30S - THE ARRIVAL OF NATURAL GAS IS THE ONLY WAY - Filenews 7/7 by Eleftheria Paizanou
By 2030, natural gas will have to come to Cyprus, otherwise the country will have a problem with the adequacy of electricity. The admission was made by the Minister of Energy, Michalis Damianos, in the context of the meeting of the parliamentary Energy Committee on Tuesday morning.
As Mr. Damianos said, due to Cyprus' commitments to the European Union, some old and polluting EAC generators in Dhekelia will have to be withdrawn by the end of 2029 and replaced with others that will run on natural gas. Mr. Damianos noted that the EAC has entered into an agreement for the purchase of three new generators, two of which will be transferred to Cyprus in 2028 and one in 2029.
"All three will not work, both will work, but they will not completely replace the old generators, as they will be of smaller capacity," he added.
"The project in Vassiliko and the replacement of the generators are intertwined issues," Mr. Damianos stressed. According to him, the Vasilikos terminal is a one-way street for the long-term energy security of Cyprus, pointing out that any other intermediate solutions would take more time. He explained that the Government is not considering an alternative plan for the Vasilikos terminal, pointing out that the goal is to announce a new tender within 2026, in order to award the project to a new contractor before the end of the year and to complete the infrastructure before 2030.
By 2030, natural gas will have to come to Cyprus, otherwise the country will have a problem with the adequacy of electricity. The admission was made by the Minister of Energy, Michalis Damianos, in the context of the meeting of the parliamentary Energy Committee on Tuesday morning.
As Mr. Damianos said, due to Cyprus' commitments to the European Union, some old and polluting EAC generators in Dhekelia will have to be withdrawn by the end of 2029 and replaced with others that will run on natural gas. Mr. Damianos noted that the EAC has entered into an agreement for the purchase of three new generators, two of which will be transferred to Cyprus in 2028 and one in 2029.
"All three will not work, both will work, but they will not completely replace the old generators, as they will be of smaller capacity," he added.
"The project in Vassiliko and the replacement of the generators are intertwined issues," Mr. Damianos stressed. According to him, the Vasilikos terminal is a one-way street for the long-term energy security of Cyprus, pointing out that any other intermediate solutions would take more time. He explained that the Government is not considering an alternative plan for the Vasilikos terminal, pointing out that the goal is to announce a new tender within 2026, in order to award the project to a new contractor before the end of the year and to complete the infrastructure before 2030.
