EAC €150 mln deal for nat gas power unit

Cyprus Electricity Authority announced a €150 mln deal with Greek firm Terna to construct a natural gas power generating unit at the Vasiliko plant.

The authority said the “new, modern and efficient” generation unit, with a capacity of 160MW, will be the sixth unit added to its existing conventional unit production line.

“It will help ensure the adequacy of electricity production and provide the necessary backup. It is expected to be put into operation before the summer of 2024.”

To be constructed by Terna, the unit will consist of two gas turbines, two heat recovery boilers and a steam turbine, with a maximum capacity of 160MW, and operate on natural gas as the main fuel, and diesel, as an alternative.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday at the EAC headquarters by EAC chair Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou and vice-chair of Terna Yiannis Stefanatos.

Terna’s Efstathios Natsis said this project is very important for the EAC and Cyprus regarding national energy efficiency and environmental upgrading of its production line.

Siemens will be supplying the technological equipment for the unit.

The Energy Ministry’s Charalambos Rousos said the ultimate goal is the uninterrupted supply of electricity and the country’s gradual transition to green energy.

Theodosiou said: “We are looking forward to the arrival of natural gas, and at the same time, we are committed to the goal of utilising RES (renewable energy sources).”

EAC also announced it would be going ahead with plans to build several solar parks, increasing the contribution of RES to the energy mix.

Among projects in the pipeline is a €70 mln solar park to be built in cooperation with the Cyprus Church in Achera, Limassol.

The project involves the construction of ten small solar parks with a total capacity of 68 MW.

If it gets the green light, the project is expected to be launched in 2023 and completed in mid-2025.

EAC and the Church consortium have the approval to construct four smaller solar parks in Achera, with a capacity of 16 MW.