Thousands of megawatt-hours of power generated by renewables get discarded each day because Cyprus lacks the storage systems, MPs heard on Tuesday.

The House energy committee discussed energy storage in the wake of recent power cuts and the electricity grid getting stretched to its limit due to high demand amid the unusually cold spell.

Energy Minister George Papanastasiou promised that as of next year, energy would be stored using lithium-ion batteries – capable of storing for two to four hours.

Storage is key, he noted, as production from renewables often surpasses demand, leading to discarded energy.

“Chemical energy storage [meaning batteries] is the most immediate solution,” the minister said.

He cited the National Energy and Climate Plan that sets out the framework for hybrid systems and energy storage. The revised edition of the plan speaks of using lithium-ion.

Meanwhile the energy ministry has rolled out grant schemes like Save & Upgrade geared at homes and businesses.

The minister cited a €35 million scheme for energy storage as part of the Thalia 2021-2027 programme.

Meanwhile the ministry has tabled a bill aiming to regulate the electricity market. It would allow the Transmission System Operator (TSO) to possess and exploit energy storage systems.

A TSO official told MPs that the agency has already issued preliminary connection regulations relating to eight applications for large-scale storage systems.

For its part, the Association of Renewable Energy Enterprises alleged that current storage schemes are tailored to favour the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC).

Association head Fanos Karantonis said the market is there, waiting for the government to tweak the regulatory framework.

Representatives of the Biogas Producers Association complained that the storage schemes do not cover their needs as they focus exclusively on batteries.

The Electricity Market Association likewise said that current schemes and hybrid systems lock out big sectors of the market, in this way benefiting the EAC.

Head of the Consumers Association Marios Droushiotis cautioned that whatever is done cannot be to the detriment of consumers.

And he predicted that adoption of energy storage would bring down electricity costs by just 1 cent per kilowatt-hour.

The Chamber of Commerce said it has proposed the establishment of an ‘energy strategy council’. Chrysanthos Marouchos noted the need to balance out energy demand, and proposed the practice of load shifting to time slots when production from renewables is high.

Load shifting involves moving electricity consumption to a different interval of time, but total consumption remains constant.

Chair of the House energy committee Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis later told reporters the main problem is the absence of strategy on the government level.

“Without a set strategy, we’re beating about the bush.”

The MP asked why permits have not been granted for applications for energy storage relating to more than 1,000 megawatts.

Akel’s Costas Costa remarked that Cyprus is perhaps the only country where during the day thousands of megawatt-hours “get thrown out” because there is no central storage system for renewables.

And at nighttime, he added, when demand goes up, the country finds itself just short of a “blackout”.

Costa lamented that at the discussion in parliament, each association was promoting its own interests.

“We don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he noted.