Vasilikos Cements plans power station

Vasilikos Cements plans to set up its own power generation station when the Cypriot electricity market opens up to competition in 2003, in accordance with EU regulations. The power generated by Vasilikos will be used to meet its own electricity requirements.

Vasilikos Cements is Cyprus’ biggest electricity consumer, accounting for 5% of total power consumption and 25% of total industrial consumption. The reasons behind its decision to generate its own power are purely financial. The cost of setting up the power production unit is estimated at between £1m and £2m and would bring annual savings of £1m to the company by bypassing the need to buy electricity from Cyprus’ power utility, the EAC.

Vasilikos Cements plans to generate power through the use of light fuel oil (LFO) and natural gas. In addition to the electricity it acquires from EAC at the moment, the company uses a variety of other energy sources to meet its requirements. These include the burning of anthracite, olive kernels and the sediment from the recycling of wastewater. In future, the company also plans to burn used tyres for the production of energy. The last two sources of energy, however, are not very popular among the locals who fear their impact on the environment. Using wastewater for the production of energy causes a pungent smell, while the burning of tyres could lead to increased dioxin emissions into the atmosphere.