The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Keve) on Thursday announced that the Shorewinner project, a pioneering effort to advance skills in the offshore renewable energy sector, is set for its official launch in Cyprus.
According to the chamber, the gathering is expected to draw key figures from across Southern Europe, all focused on strengthening the region''s expertise in renewable energy sources.
"The Shorewinner project is an ambitious collaboration under the Erasmus+ programme, uniting 22 partners from five Southern European countries—Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus," the chamber said in its announcement.
"Our goal is to establish a robust Community of Practice (CoP) dedicated to offshore renewable energies, focusing on upskilling and reskilling the workforce to meet the increasing demand for specialists in this vital industry," it added.
The launch event itself promises several key moments. It will give attendees the chance to engage directly with industry experts, academics, and policymakers, with discussions focusing on the skills required to shape the future of the offshore renewable energy sector.
The event also provides ample opportunities for networking—bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to foster collaboration and drive innovation in what is increasingly becoming a central pillar of the blue economy.
Of particular interest to those already working in the field will be the introduction of educational resources and training programmes aimed at addressing the skills gaps that have been identified in offshore energy.
"Co-organised by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), the University of Cyprus (UCY), CARDET – Centre for Research and Education, and Intercollege, this event promises to be a milestone in the journey toward a sustainable and innovative offshore energy sector in Southern Europe," the chamber stated.
Souzana Psara is part of the Cyprus Mail''s business section, covering local business news, startups, and tech. Off the clock, she stays up to date with the latest industry trends and innovations.''
For many Europeans, Cyprus and Malta represent a distant Mediterranean paradise. But despite their sunny climate, the two are less able to capitalise on their wealth of sunshine and potential clean energy than one may expect.
One solution has been for these small island nations to partner up with expert research partners from bigger EU countries, which are largely ahead in moving toward a low-carbon economy andclean mobility.
Professor George Georghiou and his team at the FOSS Research Centre for Sustainable Energy at the University of Cyprus have been working since 2016 alongside fellow researchers from the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) – both established experts in the field of photovoltaic (PV) and smart energy grids – as part of an EU-funded research initiative calledTwinPV.
Their shared goal was to explore how Cyprus could better use PV energy to meet its growing electricity needs and drive research and innovation linked to this renewable energy resource.
The research partners ran a number of case studies focused on the entire solar energy cycle, from PV cells and energy storage to smart electricity grids and energy forecasting. The overall aim was to find ways to use more renewable energy on the island and end Cyprus'' reliance on crude oil. This required addressing challenges unique to small island nations like Cyprus.
Cyprus receives more than 3300 hours of sunlight per year, which makes it an ideal place to harness solar energy. Yet, it still imports most of its energy, in the form of fossil fuels 2019, just 13.8% of its energy came from solar and wind energy, well below the 19.7% European average, according toEurostat.The obvious question is: why?
The challenge is that renewable energies, such as solar energy, are unpredictable and do not allow the country to react to its changing energy needs. On average, Cyprus receives four million tourists annually, most of them arriving during a few short months. Energy needs on the island then surge from 300 megawatts in the spring to 1200 megawatts.
Methods for storing renewable energy are still complicated and costly, making it difficult to use it as the primary energy source. A significant amount of surplus energy is therefore not stored for later use, but is instead lost. This is because there is as yet no connection with power grids in mainland Europe, making it hard to export surplus energy.
''In the rest of Europe, if you produce a lot of electricity, you can always send it to a neighbouring country, but Cyprus is an island, not connected to the European energy market,'' explained Georghiou. ''We cannot transfer our energy, and we also cannot store it because it is too costly.''
As a result, Cyprus primarily relies on three fuel oil-burning stations, and electricity prices in the country are constantly rising, leaving much of the population threatened by energy poverty.
The help of more experienced partners was crucial and Georghiou acknowledges that the TwinPV collaboration contributed significantly to building research capacity in Cyprus.
''We gained a lot of knowledge and expertise from our more advanced partners. The project helped us to expand our capabilities and produce relevant research into solar energy, smart grids and the integration of renewable energy sources.''
One significant result for Cyprus was the upgrading of the FOSS research centre into thePHAETHON Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Intelligent, Efficient and Sustainable Energy Solutions starting in 2024. This transformation, supported by the EU, will create a new regional CoE in sustainable energy.
It has also led to plans to turn the University of Cyprus campus completely ''green'', said Georghiou. A major new solar park with battery storage is currently being built, which should meet a significant part of the university''s electricity needs.
Overall, the use of distributed renewable energy is expanding in Cyprus, whichhopes to boost its share of renewable energy to 23% by 2030 as part of its National Energy and Climate Plan. Promisingly, the number of photovoltaic systems in Cyprus rose by 66% in2023 and this trend is expected to continue.
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