The EU has recently announced that it will invest €4 million in a solar energy project in Northern Cyprus, or the Turkish Cypriot State. The European Commission has started a project to build a pilot solar power plant for Northern Cyprus that will be able to deliver electricity to the grid in 2009.
The pilot power plant will generate a maximum of 1 megawatt of electricity and should be up and running by the summer of 2009, according to news reports. It is expected to produce over 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. The project is being funded under the EU Financial Aid Regulation for the Turkish Cypriot community.
Energy experts and technicians are currently working on a study to determine the optimal location for the new plant. A meeting was hosted by the EU recently in Nicosia to discuss solar power and the prospects for renewable energy in Cyprus. Speaking at the seminar, the Head of the EU Programme Support Office Alain Bothorel said that 14-million Euros have been earmarked for the development of the energy sector in North Cyprus and that the amount will now be used on investments for the use of solar energy, with this pilot project being the first of several to come.
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