Green Future For Cyprus Means Being Interconnected

North Cyprus News - Sahap Asikoglu
[Undersecretary for the Ministry of Economy and Energy – Şahap Aşıkoğlu]
The EU Commission’s decision to impose restrictions on EU countries regarding the use of fossil fuels will impact both South Cyprus and the TRNC, Undersecretary for the Ministry of Economy and Energy, Şahap Aşıkoğlu stated, Kibris Postasi reported.

He said that this process had been ongoing for a while and it was projected that the use of fossil fuels will be terminated by 2035.  “However, this situation has made it inevitable for the TRNC and Southern Cyprus to be interconnected with a larger system”, said Aşıkoğlu.

Renewable Energy

 Aşıkoğlu said that 40 percent of electricity consumed by EU countries in the first half of 2020 had come from renewable sources and 34 percent from fossil fuels. The time for using conventional fuel sources has passed, he said.

These events will have a serious impact on the TRNC and Southern Cyprus, the undersecretary said. It was necessary, therefore, for both sides of the island to be interconnected with a larger electricity grid, he said.

Aşıkoğlu also emphasised that France and Germany no longer issued drilling rights for the extraction of fossil fuels. These regulations are also closely linked to the gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aşıkoğlu pointed out. He added that it would no longer be possible to extract gas given the vision for renewable energy sources. 

The undersecretary stated that he believed that the EU’s carbon-free vision for the future was the right one. He noted, however, that this would bring new political, technical and financial problems for the whole of Cyprus.

The only rational alternative on the island is now interconnectedness, and the European Commission needs a large-scale project for both sides to achieve this end, said Aşıkoğlu.

Kibris Postasi

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