A Türkiye-based company is set to construct a major solar power plant in Turkish Cyprus, aiming to ease the island’s chronic energy shortages and counter what officials describe as attempts by the Greek Cypriot administration to impose an energy blockade.
The company will invest $60 million in the project, which will deliver 50 megawatts of capacity. The plant is expected to significantly meet the electricity needs of the hospitality and industrial sectors.
Speaking to a group of Turkish journalists, Turkish Cypriot Economy and Energy Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu underscored the island’s energy challenges.
He recalled Türkiye’s earlier plan to deliver electricity via a 95-kilometer undersea cable at a cost of $400 million, a project opposed by the Greek Cypriot side. “The Greek Cypriots tried to build a line from Greece at a distance of 1,208 kilometers with a $2 billion investment. Part of that line would have had to pass through Türkiye. The EU found the project unfeasible, so it was suspended. If Türkiye's 95-kilometer undersea electricity project is realized, it will benefit both Turkish Cyprus and Greek Cyprus,” Amcaoğlu said.
He added that discussions with Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar had led to a decision to establish a solar plant with storage capacity to secure the island’s energy supply.
Sercan Görgüner Bahçeci, vice president of the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry, explained that under the “SANHO” project, the Türkiye-based company will build the solar facility in Serhatköy, with 25 megawatts of storage capacity included in the total 50-megawatt installation.
“The plant is scheduled to come online around 2028. Once operational, it will cover about 60 percent of the electricity needs of the industrial sector,” Bahçeci said.
