Works on the 10MW photovoltaic park on university land lying within the buffer zone in Aglandjia are due to start within the next few weeks and be completed inside 2013, UCY press officer Katerina Nikolaidou said.

Nikolaidou said they would be calling for tenders in the next few weeks.

The Nasos Ktorides Foundation will fund the €14 million venture - €7 million as an interest-free loan and the rest as a donation.

The park should be able to meet the university’s current energy needs, placed at roughly 16 million kWh a year, but expected to grow as the university expands.

It is part of agreater vision on the part of UCY rector Constantinos Christofides, an ardent proponent of making use of Cyprus’ nearly year-round sunshine to create an energy independent island.

“Some 0.1 per cent of Cyprus’ land can cover 100 per cent of our energy needs,” Christofides has said.

He has previously proposed selling Cyprus’ natural gas abroad and using the revenues in part to fund renewable energy development.

For Christofides, the UCY’s position as a free from carbon emissions will help it attract more funding on renewable energy development.

“At a time when we are seeking ways for Cyprus to become independent from polluting and expensive fuels, using nature’s resources is more than necessary for our well-being. It is essential for the health and happiness of ourselves and our children,” the UCY said more than a year ago, when the park was announced.

A few weeks ago, the United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) okayed the project, which proceeds with the support of the electricity authority of Cyprus (EAC) and the energy regulator.

The park commemorates the 13 people killed in a naval base blast in July 2011.

A potential €1.0 million from profits from selling the electricity to the EAC will be split between funding UCY scholarships and funding the UCY’s institute of advanced studies.

If Cyprus continues consuming energy as it does now, consumption may increase by roughly 50 per cent by 2020, said environmental scientist with the Technological university of Cyprus, Alexandros Charalambides.

In 2010 Cyprus consumed roughly 5,000GWh and would need to use 7,401 GWh by 2020, Charalambides said.

Source: Cyprus Mail