Electricity in Cyprus in 2024
In 2024, Cyprus's electricity consumption is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, which account for roughly 76% of its electricity generation. This leaves a bit over 23% for low-carbon electricity sources. Solar power is responsible for the majority of this low-carbon portion, contributing more than 19% of total electricity, while wind energy adds around 3.5%. Despite having a relatively high solar energy contribution, Cyprus's dependency on fossil fuels remains significantly high, highlighting both a challenge and an opportunity for the country to shift towards cleaner energy sources. The current reliance on fossil fuels not only affects Cyprus’s carbon footprint but also poses concerns related to climate change and air quality.
Suggestions
To enhance its low-carbon electricity production, Cyprus could focus on further expanding its existing solar energy infrastructure, capitalizing on its sunny climate. Learning from other countries with successful low-carbon energy strategies can also provide valuable insights. For instance, Greece, with a comparable geographic and climatic context, generates about 22% of its electricity from wind. Denmark, renowned for its robust wind energy sector, produces more than half of its electricity from wind power. Cyprus can seek to emulate this by increasing investment in both solar and wind technologies and optimizing their integration into its electricity grid, potentially lowering its fossil fuel dependency significantly.
History
The evolution of low-carbon electricity generation in Cyprus has shown a steady, albeit slow, increase over the years. In the early 2010s, wind energy started making small gains, with a modest increase observed until 2012. However, the year 2014 marked a mild setback in wind energy generation. Solar energy began gaining traction from 2015 onwards, with incremental annual increases. The last few years, particularly from 2020 to 2024, have shown more significant growth in solar energy generation, indicating a promising trend towards cleaner electricity sources. This gradual yet persistent rise in solar electricity generation highlights the potential for Cyprus to build on its successes and continue to increase its share of low-carbon electricity in the near future.
Electrification
We estimate the degree of electrification by comparing electricity and total energy emissions. More about methodology.