Cyprus begins talks on undersea power cable to Lebanon — Cyprus Mail
Cyprus has begun official talks on laying an undersea electricity cable to Lebanon. The interconnector could allow the island to supply Lebanon with surplus renewable electricity that is currently lost due to limitations of the local grid.
Former Cypriot Energy Minister Georgos Papanastasiou told Cyprus Mail that during periods of peak generation, solar power plants can produce more electricity than the island can consume. To avoid overloading the grid, such capacity is temporarily disconnected.
The need for storage remains
According to Papanastasiou, the cable will provide Cyprus with a channel for supplying “green” electricity to Lebanon, but it will not eliminate the need for energy storage systems. The planned batteries are intended to store electricity produced during peak generation hours for use outside those periods.
Cyprus currently relies more on fossil fuels at night and during adverse weather. Papanastasiou noted that storage facilities are needed for a stable electricity supply, including in the event of exports through the future cable.
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Study and Lebanon’s grid
The next step is expected to be a feasibility study for the project. Because the World Bank oversees Lebanon, the bank was to be asked to finance the study. In July, the governments of Cyprus and Lebanon, together with the World Bank, had already agreed to prepare a preliminary feasibility study for the connection.
The project envisages three stages: a cost-benefit analysis, an agreement between regulators on allocating costs between the countries, and design work. Papanastasiou believes the design work will be simpler than for the Great Sea Interconnector, which is intended to connect the electricity grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel, as the new cable will be shorter.
For Lebanon, the cable could provide security and stability of electricity supply if Cyprus’s grid and power supply remain stable. At the same time, Papanastasiou drew attention to problems with Lebanon’s domestic grid, which he described as destroyed and fragmented into separate systems with their own generators. He also expects a reaction from Turkey to the project, but believes that any possible objections will have no basis in international law.
