The Cyprus Stock Exchange signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hellenic Energy Exchange (HEnEx) on Thursday (30/5) for cooperation on Guarantees of Origin (GOs) from Renewable Energy Sources (RES), paving the way for the utilization of several million euros.

With the signing of the MoU, new opportunities will be created for both companies and citizens to exploit the energy they produce from RES in a different way, gaining additional financial benefits through the trading of these certificates. On the other hand, both polluting industries and other companies can benefit by purchasing them, thus reducing their emissions costs and utilizing them for ESG purposes.

Essentially, RES producers and private individuals, once they receive a Guarantee of Origin certificate from the Transmission System Operator, will be able to trade it on the Exchange. Certificates can be obtained from the Transmission System Operator monthly.

Currently, the price for each megawatt-hour (MW) is estimated at €5. However, it should be noted that for now, these certificates cannot be issued for residential photovoltaic systems, a matter expected to be resolved.

Indicatively, this translates to approximately €15-€20 per year for an average household. However, it is expected that both the price and production will increase in the coming years.

Specifically, the President of the Cyprus Stock Exchange, Marinos Christodoulides, explained the current situation and what will change with the signing of the MoU with HEnEx.

Initially, Mr. Christodoulides mentioned that there has been interest in trading RES certificates in Cyprus for some time. However, this could not be offered to Cypriot producers due to the small size of the market, leading to the decision to sign the MoU with the Hellenic Energy Exchange.

Regarding the current status of these certificates, the President of the Cyprus Stock Exchange mentioned that RES production in Cyprus is about 1 million kilowatt-hours annually, with approximately half of this being produced by residential photovoltaic systems. Currently, the Transmission System Operator cannot issue these certificates for residential producers/consumers.

He explained that these Guarantees of Origin certificates can be issued to any RES producer. They state the energy produced each month.

However, for these certificates to be issued, RES producers must first apply for them, a step many have not yet taken.

In summary, today, out of the 1 million megawatt-hours, certificates are issued only for 300,000 megawatt-hours. Certificates cannot yet be issued for the 500,000 megawatt-hours produced by residential photovoltaic systems.