Damianos to address regional energy cooperation at Thessaloniki forum

Thessaloniki, Greece. Energy Minister Michael Damianos will travel to Thessaloniki on Friday, September 4, to participate in the 10th Southeast Europe Energy Forum, where he is expected to outline Cyprus’ role in regional energy cooperation.

He will join a ministerial panel on energy security, affordability and competitiveness before visiting the Energy Ministry’s pavilion at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair.

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Forum participation

Damianos will take part at 4pm in a panel titled “Security, affordability and competitiveness in a changing energy landscape”, alongside the energy ministers of Greece, Bulgaria and North Macedonia and the president of the energy committee of the Romanian parliament.

His intervention is expected to address European energy challenges, including the diversification of energy sources and routes, security of supply, energy costs and the competitiveness of the European economy.

Cyprus’ energy role

The minister is also expected to highlight Cyprus’ geographical position and energy potential, and their role in strengthening regional cooperation through electricity interconnections and energy infrastructure in the southeastern Mediterranean.

He will discuss renewable energy sources, energy storage and the use of domestic energy resources to support a safer, more resilient and more competitive energy system.

Following the forum, Damianos will visit the Energy Ministry’s pavilion at the Thessaloniki International Fair before returning to Cyprus on Saturday morning.

Storage and solar curtailment

The visit comes as Cyprus faces pressure to expand energy storage capacity, with increased solar generation leading to significant curtailment of renewable electricity.

In August, Damianos said claims that photovoltaic and solar systems were loss-making were misleading and discouraged investment in clean energy. He was responding to a formal question from Akel MP Christos Christofides regarding the policy of curtailing solar generation when electricity supply exceeds demand.

Around 300 gigawatt-hours of solar energy was wasted in 2025 because of grid constraints and insufficient battery storage, representing almost half of distributed renewable generation.