Underlining the growing energy need of our country, the scientific team of the University of Kyrenia evaluated TRNC’s natural renewable energy potential.

According to the press release from the Directorate of Press and Public Relations Office of the University of Kyrenia, the scientific team of the University drew attention to the economic and environmental advantages of the renewable energy sources over the fossil fuel energy sources. The scientific team emphasized that wind power and solar energy potential are quite high in our country due to its geographic location and it would be more economical to use these alternative renewable energy sources to meet the growing energy need of our country instead of using fossil based energy.

Touching upon the dramatical increase in the world’s energy consumption, the scientific research team of the University of Kyrenia indicated that while fossil fuels were likely to remain an important source of energy, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy were gaining importance as a result of concerns over high fossil fuel prices and hazardous effects on ecosystem as well as greenhouse gas emission. The scientific team also highlighted that fossil fuel energy reserves would reduce due to extensive consumption and the prices would increase inevitably. Drawing attention to the climatic changes all over the world, the scientific team of the University of Kyrenia noted that fossil based energy sources such as coal, gas and fuel that currently used to generate electricity triggered the temperature rise along with the greenhouse effect.

For the last decades across the globe, there has been an increase in the use of wind power to generate electric energy with most affordable costs. The scientific team of the University of Kyrenia provided data relevant to the use of energy produced by wind power. According to this data, while the overall electric energy generated from wind power was 18,039 MW across the globe in 2000, this amount was increased to 152,000 MW in 2009 and to 260,000 MW in 2012. Besides, the cost of wind tribunes that used to generate electricity decreased 50% percent in the last 15 years. Developed countries such as Germany, Norway, Denmark, the USA, Japan and France are focused on using wind energy as an alternative and cheaper source of energy. As of November 2014, wind power provides almost 43 % of Denmark’s total electric consumption. Besides, Denmark has already reached its year 2020 governmental goal of installing 200 MW of photovoltaic capacity and increased the total PV capacity from 90,000 private installations amounts to 500MP, a total of 3,400 MW is expected to be installed by 2030.

Touching upon the importance that attached by EU on the use of sustainable energy sources, the scientific team of the University of Kyrenia stated that the European countries have to generate at least 13% of their total energy consumptions from sustainable energy resources in the line with the standards set by the European Union. Underlining the high cost of electric power in TRNC, the scientific team noted that 1 kWh currently cost approximately 0, 19 €. The team emphasized that generating electricity from wind and sunlight would be an appropriate investment in our country in which sunlight and wind were available at least throughout ten months a year. The scientific team calculated the value of 1 kWh wind power as 0,015€ to 0,017€ which is much cheaper.