By Argyro Nicolaou

THE FIRST-EVER combined solar power and desalination plant will be constructed in Cyprus, following the success of a Cyprus Institute research project.

The aim of the research was to provide a feasible solution to the water shortage problem faced by Cyprus and other Mediterranean countries, while considering the need for a sustainable energy source to support a sustainable supply of water.

Among the important findings of the research is that solar energy, as opposed to wind or photovoltaic energy, can be stored. This adds to the efficiency of solar energy as a source for sustainable electrical power.

The president of the Cyprus Institute, Costas Papanicolaou, said yesterday the plant would prove the effectiveness of the research’s breakthrough results. This opens the possibility for Cyprus to sell the know-how of the method to other countries.

The Cyprus Institute carried out the pioneering research in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Illinois, over a period of two years, starting in June 2008.

Together with the presentation of the project’s results yesterday came an announcement from the Ministry of Interior, offering the Institute land in the area of Pentakomo on which the plant will be built. It is not known when construction of the new plant will get off the ground.

The cost of the plant is estimated at around €25 million, not including the cost of the land provided by the government.

Minister of Interior Neoclis Sylikiotis emphasised the project’s significance in helping Cyprus gain international recognition in the field of ground-breaking research.