On Thursday, September 25th, the workshop entitled “Energy Communities: From Theory to Practice” was successfully completed. The event was organized by Terra Cypria – The Cyprus Foundation for Environmental Protection and the Municipality of Kourion, and took place at the Ypsonas Municipal Theater.
Presentations were delivered by representatives of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) and the Cyprus Energy Agency. The workshop highlighted the current regulatory framework governing the establishment of energy communities in Cyprus, as well as the example of the first energy community in Pyrgos Tyllirias, which is currently under development.
Municipal councillors, members of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, and energy experts attended the workshop. Participants had the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge, raise concerns and questions, and contribute to a productive dialogue.
The event began with brief addresses by the Mayor of Kourion, Mr. Pantelis Georgiou, and the Executive Director of our Foundation, Ms. Koulla Michael.
This was followed by a presentation from Ms. Maria Constantinou, Climate Policy Officer of our Foundation, who emphasized the role of energy communities in addressing the current global climate crisis. She highlighted the potential benefits for their members, as well as the challenges for smooth operation. It was stressed that energy communities can directly contribute to increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix through collective production, distribution, and storage of renewable energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation, which is heavily reliant on heavy fuel oil and crude oil. At the same time, she underlined that energy communities promote energy democracy—since decision-making responsibility lies with their members—while also addressing energy poverty through reduced electricity costs achieved by renewable energy production.
Next, Ms. Maria-Eleni Deledda, representative of CERA, presented the regulatory framework for Energy Communities in Cyprus. She clarified the differences between the two types of communities: Citizen Energy Communities (CEC) and Renewable Energy Communities (REC). REC requires geographical proximity among its members, unlike CEC, which does not impose such a restriction. Ms. Deledda went on to explain who can become a member of an energy community, ways of participating in its share capital, the necessary elements of the Articles of Association (Founding Document), and the documents required for registration in CERA’s Register.
She emphasized that the development of energy communities in Cyprus does not require large-scale projects, but rather many smaller ones that will help build the knowledge and experience needed. She also stressed the importance of transparency, citizen education (so that people are informed about energy communities), financial support (through programs, loans, etc.), and infrastructure with technical and legislative backing. She concluded by noting that CERA is ready to support initiatives to establish energy communities, assessing each case individually.
The workshop concluded with Ms. Myrto Skouroupati, representative of the Cyprus Energy Agency, who presented the history and development process of Cyprus’s first Energy Community in Pyrgos Tyllirias, which is currently in a pilot phase. She emphasized the importance of preparing a detailed, well-documented, and comprehensive business plan before implementation, to avoid mistakes that could jeopardize the community. She also stressed the importance of grants for such projects so that they can support energy-poor groups who could benefit from advantages such as cheaper electricity.
At this point, we would like to express our warm thanks to all who contributed to the success of the workshop. We thank the Municipality of Kourion for co-organizing and hosting the event, as well as our speakers Ms. Maria-Eleni Deledda from CERA and Ms. Myrto Skouroupati from the Cyprus Energy Agency for their cooperation and participation.
Energy communities are a vital tool to achieve the green transition and shape the energy future of our country, while also addressing pressing issues such as energy poverty.
The workshop was organized within the framework of a Terra Cypria project funded by the European Climate Foundation (ECF).
