The municipality of Aradippou reached energy independence with 100% renewables

It all started with a visit of some Aradippou municipal officials to Samsø (Denmark) in 2016. At the time, Samsø was the first 100% renewables island. The municipality of Aradippou had joined Energy Cities’ two years before and was already working on the development of smart grid solutions based on renewables for its industrial areas. They were motivated and inspired by Samsø’s achievement.

Thanks to the strategic vision of the then-Mayor Evangelos Evangelides and his team, the municipality decided to follow in the footsteps of the Danish island and become 100% renewables. It took a lot of courage to embark in this journey. The project was unprecedented for Cyprus, so they lacked knowledge both at the national and municipal level. It took them 7 years to bring it from idea to implementation. Meanwhile, the municipality announced an ambitious energy and social policy and set itself the goal of becoming a smart city by 2030.

“It has been a long journey but a first major milestone” told us Dr. Panayiotis Michael, Aradippou’s Academic Advisor for Energy Transition and Smart Cities.

Throughout these years Energy Cities team, with the leadership of Mrs Claire Roumet and the ex-President Prof. Dr. Eckart Würzner, has been an invaluable resource of scientific knowledge, political support and encouragement. This, and the collective strength of our fellow-members put us on the right path to make it happen. Thank you, Energy Cities!

Dr. Panayiotis Michael, Aradippou’s Academic Advisor for Energy Transition and Smart Cities.

A 29MW solar plant is now installed on 47 thousand m2 of government land, leased to the municipality. It became operational since last April but was inaugurated by the President of Cyprus at the beginning of September with a high-level ceremony. Aradippou has already been contacted by other municipalities who want to learn more about the process and was praised by national authorities for such an effective use of EU funds.

Indeed, this EUR 3.2 million project was co-financed via THALIA 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy Programme, with the city contributing with 20% of the cost. It is a clear demonstration of how important it is to keep the EU agenda – and future budget – anchored to local realities.

This achievement reinforces our belief that we need to keep fighting for a European budget that makes it possible for cities to access the resources they need to implement EU priorities on the ground.

Claire Roumet, Energy Cities

Have a look at Energy Cities’ analysis of the EU Commission’s proposal for the next multiannual budget

Reaching energy independence has not only put Aradippou on track towards achieving its energy and climate targets, but it is also going to drastically increase the municipal budget. Around 700 thousand EUR will be saved every year, giving the municipality the resources they need to advance on other priorities. The mayor has already announced that a new PV project is already in the works, this time aiming at providing low-cost electricity to vulnerable households.