Battery storage (BESS) in Cyprus: licence, land and grid

In short

A storage installation needs a CERA licence, its own planning and building permits unless it sits beside a licensed solar station, and all permits before the grid ranks it.

Klitos Platis, advocate

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You are developing a battery energy storage system in Cyprus, on its own or beside a solar park, and need to know what has to be in place, and in what order. Since April 2026 the order decides whether the project reaches the grid at all.

What follows comes from the Regulating the Electricity Market Law, Law 130(I)/2021, as amended by Law 70(I)/2026, the decisions made under it, the planning and building laws, and the laws on leases and on foreign ownership. At the end we set the steps out in sequence.

Storage is a licensed activity of its own

A storage installation needs a licence from CERA, unless it operates only for its owner’s use. Section 26(1)(ιγ) lists the installation or operation of an electricity storage installation among the activities that need a CERA licence, and excepts installations operating exclusively for own use. Section 25(1) adds that nobody builds and operates a generating or storage installation without that licence and every other permit any other law requires.

The general licence categories written into section 27(1) are all for generation. CERA has since used its power under section 27 to bring some storage into the general licence, by its Regulatory Decision 03/2025 (Κ.Δ.Π. 290/2025, in force from 26 September 2025):

renewables stations up to 50kW with co-located storage for commercial purposes;
rooftop solar above 50kW, with or without co-located storage;
innovative renewables technologies up to 500kW, with or without innovative storage;
innovative storage technologies up to 500kW output.

A utility-scale battery is outside those categories and goes through the full licence. The applicant must be established in a member state, with its registered seat, central administration or principal place of business in the Union (section 29(2)).

Beside a solar park, or on its own: the permits

Storage beside a licensed renewables station can rely on deemed permits; a standalone site cannot. Section 21 of the Town and Country Planning Law, Law 90/1972, forbids any development without a planning permit. A proviso added by Law 179(I)/2025 deems the permit issued for storage combined with a renewables station whose licences are already secured, on the conditions of the Minister’s Order, Κ.Δ.Π. 17/2026. Among them:

the storage sits on the plot licensed for the renewables project;
it is an ancillary and complementary use of the station;
its rated power does not exceed that of the licensed station;
it keeps to the height and boundary distances the Order sets.

The building permit follows the same pattern: a proviso to section 3(1) of the Streets and Buildings Regulation Law, Cap. 96, added by Law 181(I)/2025, with its own Order, Κ.Δ.Π. 15/2026. A standalone battery is outside both provisos, so it needs a planning permit and a building permit in the ordinary way.

The grid ranks only projects with every permit in force

Since 14 April 2026 no grid capacity is reserved until every licence and approval for the connection is in place. Section 95A(1), inserted by Law 70(I)/2026, binds both system operators to that rule, and the same Law says in terms that preliminary connection terms create no load reservation.

Projects are then ranked by maturity criteria the Minister published on 10 July 2026 (Κ.Δ.Π. 289/2026):

Entry. A licence or exemption, a planning permit and a building permit (or a documented exemption from each), all in force at the same time. An application without them is rejected.
Technology. A renewables station combined with storage that can discharge at least 50% of the station’s output scores 70 points; a standalone battery scores 35.
Grid impact. Up to 30 further points, the most for a project that needs no extension or reinforcement of the network.

Capacity is offered in ranking order, and the offer has to be accepted in writing within ten working days. The ranking holds only while every permit stays in force. Our article on developing a solar project in Cyprus sets out the connection steps in full.

Land: secure it before you pay for it

A lease for more than fifteen years gives no real right unless it is registered. Section 65Β(1) of Cap. 224 says so, and registration at the District Lands Office is refused where, among other grounds:

the lease does not provide expressly for its own registration;
the land is not registered in the lessor’s name;
the land is mortgaged and the mortgagee has not consented in writing;
the lease has no fixed start and end dates.

Once registered, the tenant holds a real right over the land and over everything built on it during the lease, which can be transferred, charged and inherited (section 65Γ). That is what makes the lease something a lender can take as security. Because the permits come first, the land is usually tied up by an option or a conditional agreement, with a defined period to finish the technical and regulatory work, before the full rent and the long lease begin.

Foreign owners: two separate checks

A non-EU owner can meet both the aliens law and the investment screening law. Under Cap. 109 an alien needs the prior permit of the Council of Ministers to acquire immovable property, and acquisition includes a lease of more than thirty-three years, options to extend included. The proviso to section 3(6)(α) sets ten years for the purposes of section 3(1Α), so the length of the lease is fixed with the Law in view. A Cyprus company controlled by non-EU persons is itself an alien under section 2.

Separately, Law 194(I)/2025, in force since 2 April 2026, requires the prior approval of the Ministry of Finance where a foreign investor acquires at least 25% of the capital or the votes, the investment is worth €2,000,000 or more, and the target is an undertaking of strategic importance; the sectors listed in its Annex include energy infrastructure and energy storage. Our article on foreign investment screening in Cyprus explains the procedure.

Selling, financing or extending the project

A change of control of the licensee is a matter for CERA. Under the 2004 Licensing Regulations, still in force by section 142(2) of Law 130(I)/2021, the transfer of a licence is applied for at least three months ahead (Regulation 18), and CERA may revoke a licence where control of the licensee changes without its approval under the licence’s terms (Regulation 15(γ)). Read the licence’s own conditions before any share sale or share pledge.

A licence that is running out can be extended, on conditions. Section 32(2), added by Law 70(I)/2026, lets CERA extend a licence or an exemption for building a storage installation by reasoned decision, where the delay is justified and documented, the holder shows an intention and the capacity to build, and a connection application has been filed. No extension exceeds one year, and the total does not exceed five.

What this means in practice

Decide the configuration first, because it decides the permits and the score.

Choose: beside a licensed renewables station, with deemed permits and up to 70 points, or standalone, with its own permits and 35.
Secure the land by an option or a conditional lease that provides for registration, with the mortgagee’s consent where there is a mortgage.
Obtain the CERA licence, the planning permit and the building permit, and keep each one in force.
Only then apply for the grid ranking.
Before shares or a long lease pass to a non-EU owner, check Cap. 109 and Law 194(I)/2025, and the licence’s change of control terms.

Our energy practice page sets out the rest of the framework, from the licensing tiers to power purchase agreements.

Questions we are asked

Does a battery storage installation need a CERA licence?

Yes, unless it operates exclusively for own use. Section 26(1)(ιγ) of Law 130(I)/2021 lists the installation or operation of an electricity storage installation among the activities that need a CERA licence. Since September 2025 a general licence covers some smaller cases, including innovative storage technologies up to 500kW output.

Does a battery beside my solar park need its own planning permit?

Not if it meets the Ministerial Order. Section 21 of the Town and Country Planning Law, as amended by Law 179(I)/2025, deems the planning permit issued for storage combined with a renewables station whose licences are already secured, on the conditions of Κ.Δ.Π. 17/2026: the same plot, an ancillary use, and a rated power no greater than the station’s. A standalone site falls outside it.

When does the grid reserve capacity for a storage project?

Only once every licence and approval needed for the connection is in place. That is section 95A(1) of Law 130(I)/2021, in force since 14 April 2026. Preliminary connection terms create no load reservation.

Must a long land lease for the project be registered?

A lease for more than fifteen years gives the tenant no real right unless it is registered at the District Lands Office, under section 65Β(1) of Cap. 224. The lease has to provide expressly for registration, and a mortgagee of the land has to consent in writing.

Does a non-EU investor need any approval?

Possibly two. Under Cap. 109 a lease of more than thirty-three years is an acquisition needing a Council of Ministers permit, and a Cyprus company controlled by non-EU persons counts as an alien. Separately, Law 194(I)/2025 requires the prior approval of the Ministry of Finance for a foreign direct investment that meets its thresholds.

What should my first message say?

Where the site is and who owns it, whether the battery sits beside a licensed renewables station or stands alone, its power and capacity, which licences and permits you already hold, and who will own the project company.

Sources

Klitos Platis

Advocate, Partner

Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Cyprus
Published 23 October 2026

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