The new Solar Energy and Desalination Field Laboratory is the latest of Cyprus’s many contributions to European research in water management and solar energy, Carlos Moedas, European commissioner for research, science and innovation, said at the inauguration of the facility.
“Our resources, our responses, will be put under increasing strain in the years to come. There is more and more demand for safe drinking water, for food, healthcare and energy,” he said at the Proteas in Pentakomo, according to a report on the website of the Cyprus Institute.
Nicos Anastasiades, president of Cyprus and honorary chairman of the institute’s Board of Trustees, stated the innovative laboratory for solar applications is the infrastructure of European and regional interest. Proteas will contribute greatly to the further implementation of the vision and objectives of the institute: to become an international center of excellence in the field of solar thermal energy and desalination, he said at the event.
Andreas Pittas, head of the Cyprus Institute’s Executive Committee, referred to the scheme to ‘Adopt a heliostat’ – at present there are 50 pieces, and 35 are waiting for sponsors. The sponsorship is a meaningful way to contribute towards corporate social responsibility goals and will help advance research in renewable energy sources and their environmental impact, the article said.
A team from the Csiro, Australia’s national science agency, took five weeks to construct a solar thermal field containing 50 heliostats – large mirrors that reflect the power of the sun – at Pentakomo, located in the south of the country.
