Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, George Papanastasiou, said on Friday that the aim is for Cyprus to become an export hub for liquefied natural gas, which will come from the deposits of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Speaking at the 12th Cyprus Energy Symposium, in Nicosia, he stressed that the primary objective of the Government is to reduce the cost of electricity in Cyprus, which "seriously burdens the local economy and households".

The Minister of Energy said that in mid-January 2025 the first applications from commercial producers and individuals for energy storage will be submitted with the aim of storing 150 Megawatts of electricity from Renewable Energy Sources (RES), and he announced that the  electricity market will open in July 2025.

Papanastasiou presented Cyprus' energy strategy and referred to the goal of converting natural gas into electricity so that the findings in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the countries in the region - and not only the ones of the Republic of Cyprus- can be used. Geology does not distinguish between deposits and findings, he added.

He also referred to the transfer of natural gas from two directions, the first being the import and supply of liquefied natural gas through the "Prometheus" floating LNG unit. The goal is for Cyprus to become an export hub for liquefied natural gas, which will come from the deposits of the Eastern Mediterranean, he said and added that this can be achieved through a floating unit, the FLNG, or with a natural gas liquefaction terminal on land.

He also said that the Natural Gas Infrastructure Company has reached an agreement for the ship "Prometheus" with the contractor and the ship "will have a destination soon in December, so that it can be certified as a floating unit and possibly put into use."

Regarding the first energy storage plan, Papanastasiou said that the first applications will be in mid-January 2025 and will concern commercial producers as well as individuals. He said that the total subsidy is expected to be around 35-40 million euro and added that the Government’s current target is to put 150 Megawatts into storage.

Referring to solar and wind energy, the Minister  said that today the installed capacity in conventional production is approximately 1,400 Megawatts, while wind and solar energy is approximately 900-950 Megawatts.

Furthermore, the Minister of Energy said that electrical interconnections are part of the overall strategy of the Government and added that the Israel-Cyprus-Crete electrical interconnection is essentially the Israel-Cyprus-Europe interconnection via Crete.

“This project is expected to be completed at the end of 2029 and it will help end Cyprus’ energy isolation,” he noted.

Addressing the same event, President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou said that Cyprus has all that is needed to become an energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.

She noted that the completion of the electricity interconnection project between Cyprus, Greece and Israel is expected to contribute decisively to the lifting of energy isolation, the reduction of electricity costs and the strengthening of the country's energy security.

She stressed the need to accelerate the procedures for the implementation of the project and increase  Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the energy mix and the development of the necessary energy storage infrastructure.

The event was also addressed by Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece, Theodoros Skylakakis. In a pre-recorded message, he said that relations between Greece and Cyprus will become even closer “as the construction of the cable that will connect our two electrical systems progresses”.

The Greek Minister added that “we are forced to proceed with the rapid introduction of RES, which is the only way to offer low prices and energy security to our citizens”.