Cyprus set to curtail 28% of renewable electricity in 2024
The Transmission System Operator of Cyprus (TSOC) predicts that 28% of the nation’s annual green energy production in 2024 will be curtailed by transmission and distribution grid operators.
The issue of Cyprus’ renewable power curtailments has been brought up before, but it is expected that curtailments will reach unprecedented levels in the coming year. According to the TSOC, the island’s annual curtailments of all generated green electricity are expected to reach 28% in 2024. Curtailments in March, April, and May could reach 59%, 79%, and 51%, respectively. Curtailments from July to September, when demand for air-conditioning rises due to tourism, are predicted to range from just 0% to 5%.
It is important to note that these predictions only apply to renewable power facilities monitored by the country’s transmission and distribution networks via SCADA systems. This includes wind farms and around 47% of the island’s PV capacity. However, if all solar power generation is taken into account, including unmonitored solar energy, curtailments in 2024 could decrease to around 13%.
Renewable energy expert Dr. Andreas Procopiou has stated that small residential and commercial solar PV installations are not typically monitored through the network operators’ SCADA systems. In situations characterized by significant imbalances between generation and demand, network operators can resort to alternative control methods such as ripple control. This gives them the flexibility to exert a distinct level of management over smaller installations and the option to disconnect them from the network if necessary.
Currently, the curtailment challenge in Cyprus mainly affects large solar plants, with no provision for financial compensation for the curtailed generation.
Dr. Procopiou believes that this cannot be a sustainable situation for renewable energy investors.
He states that:
“the country’s grid operators curtailed about 3.3% and 13.4% of the annual generated green energy in 2022 and 2023, respectively.”
This only concerns the energy from the units that are monitored by the network operators.
The TSOC is now anticipating that this figure will jump up to 28% in 2024. Dr. Procopiou emphasizes that Cyprus urgently needs energy storage to further decarbonize its energy system.
He states that:
“Cyprus covered about 20% of its electricity needs in 2023 via renewables. We won’t be able to decarbonize our energy system further unless we embrace energy storage and new, smart ways of operating our networks.”
However, he also points out that the devil is in the details.
“The country’s electricity market does not have an open, liberalized structure and is still a reflection of the past. The government should open the electricity market, including energy storage, to competition. Only new technologies coupled with market competitiveness can offer Cyprus the solutions it needs.”
Source: Cyprus
