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Source:
ITER |
In Cyprus, renewable energy sources constitute the
only indigenous source of energy. In this task the main renewable
sources in the island are presented by terms of: 9 Availability of RES 9
Natural and technical restrictions to their exploitation 9 Geographical
and seasonal distribution of the exploitable potential
Solar potential
The Meteorologic service of Cyprus service of Cyprus has classified
Cyprus into 14 zones from climatic point of view. However, from the
considerations, affecting the use of solar energy, the classification
may be broadened to 3 zones: Coastal, Central plains and Mountains [41].
The collection of sunshine duration data at a number of meteorological
stations started in 1959. Statistical analysis shows that all parts of
Cyprus enjoy a very sunny climate. The mean daily sunshine, i.e. the
time interval from sunrise to sunset, for Cyprus varies from 9.8 hours
in December to 14.5 hours in June [42].
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Wind potential
The wind in Cyprus is effected by the following factors:
From anticyclones moved from west to east, from the Siberian anticyclone
during the winter and from the low pressure created in the area of India
and expanded until the area of Cyprus during the summer.
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Sea breezes generated in coastal areas as a result
of the different heat capacities of sea and land, which give rise to
different rates of heating and cooling.
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Mountain-valley winds created when cool mountain
air warms up in the morning and begins to rise – while cool air from
the valley moves to replace it. During the night the flow reverses.
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In Cyprus there is available wind potential, which
can be exploited. In the following figure the mean wind velocity in a
high of 10metres above the ground are presented. There are some areas
with mean wind velocity 5-6m/sec, while there are few areas with 7m/sec.
In the above map, the available potential is
presented. Additional restrictions should be taken into consideration,
in order to discover the exploitable wind energy potential:
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Subregions dedicated to special activities must be
excluded
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Subregions of less than 5m/s are of no interest at
least for the current level of technology and the legislative
framework.
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Subregions of very high altitudes or slope.
Wind potential (annual mean wind velocity)
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© Dr.
Ioannis P. Glekas :
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Biomass potential
The theoretical potential is always estimated from data for the
cultivated areas for each crop and the residue yield. Then the available
potential can be evaluated with the assumption that only a portion of
the theoretical potential is available for energy exploitation, since
there are other uses for most agricultural residues. Current biomass
exploitation refers to a significant amount of agricultural residues in
connection to the traditional wood stoves and the prospects for the
development of energy crops, even though, further analysis and on site
investigation, in order to clarify the attitude of the local
agricultural associations and define possible difficulties on harvesting
of agricultural by-products for bio-electricity production. In addition
to the biomass prospects, there is significant biogas potential. Thus,
referring to electrical energy produced by the exploitation of landfill
biogas from the waste disposal plant. Sententiously, the biomass
potential can be summarized as:
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Exploitation of agricultural residues
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Energy crops (Problem of water availability)
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Three big waste disposal plant
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Leucosia (100,000 tn wastes/y, capacity: 1.1MWe /
1.5MWth / 7.5GWh/y)
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Lemessos (150,000 tn wastes/y, capacity: 1.75MWe /
2.5MWth / 15.6GWh/y)
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Larnaka (45,000 tn wastes/y, capacity: 0.45MWe / 0.7MWth
/ 2.7GWh/y)
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Total: 295.000 tn wastes/y, capacity: 3.3 MWe / 4.7MWth
/ 25.8GWh/y
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Exploitation of landfill gas from the waste disposal
plant
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Burning of solid wastes
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Biofuels
Hydro potential
In Cyprus the potential for small hydro plants is limited, especially
after the last years water shortages. Although a comprehensive study for
Cyprus hydro potential has not been conducted, the suitable sites are
estimated adequate for about 1MW installed capacity.
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