Putting solar on your business in 2026? This is what to know.
When a business puts in solar, with or without a battery, it follows the rules of EAC's Distribution System Operator (DSO). They are in the Connection Guide of May 2026 and the technical guides for RES and storage systems.1, 2, 3 This article covers shops, offices, hotels, factories and any other business premises. For homes we have a separate article.
A business can run its own solar for its own use, as long as producing, storing or selling energy is not its main commercial or professional activity. The system can belong to the business itself or to a third party, for example the installer or a finance company. The third party can also install, run and maintain it, as long as it follows the business's instructions.1, 4
The 120 kW limit
For a business, the rules depend mainly on the size of the system. Below 120 kW, a business system has the same three ways to connect as a home, the standard connection, occasional zero export and permanent zero export. It also has the same remote-control receiver and the same battery rules.2, 3
From 120 kW upwards, the DSO controls the system in a different way and asks for more equipment.2, 3
Below 120 kW, a business system is treated almost like a home one. From 120 kW upwards, the DSO can also limit your output without switching the system off.
How much solar you're allowed
The DSO sets the limit by the main fuse of your supply. Supplies up to 3×40 A follow the same limits as homes, 6, 8 or 10.4 kW on a three-phase supply, and up to 10.4 kW with a battery.1
Under the DSO's Connection Guide, supplies above 3×40 A can install solar up to 80% of their load entitlement, the maximum power the supply is entitled to from the grid. You'll find it on your EAC bill. With a battery that holds at least as many kWh as the solar has kW, or with permanent zero export, the limit rises to 100%. In congested parts of the grid, where the grid has no room left for more solar power, the DSO allows these sizes only with permanent zero export.1
| Supply | Without a battery | With a battery or permanent zero export |
|---|---|---|
| 3×50 A | 27.7 kW | 34.6 kW |
| 3×60 A | 33.3 kW | 41.6 kW |
| 3×80 A | 44.4 kW | 55.5 kW |
| 3×200 A | 110.9 kW | 138.6 kW |
On a 3×200 A supply, the battery takes the limit from 110.9 to 138.6 kW, past 120 kW, and with it comes the extra equipment we describe below. That's why some businesses choose to stay just under 120 kW.
Above 10.4 kW, for most business systems the total inverter power must be between 0.94 and 1.11 times the solar's power, and never above the load entitlement. The solar you install may exceed the approved power by up to 2 kW.1
See what solar and a battery would save your business. Try the business calculator. It takes less than a minute.What gets added as the system grows
As the system grows, the DSO asks for more equipment.1, 2, 3
| System size | What is added |
|---|---|
| Above 10.4 kW | A separate production meter, beside the import and export meter |
| From 20 kW | A separate protection relay with its own switch. Below 20 kW, the inverter can do the protection itself |
| Above 50 kW | The production meter works through current transformers |
| From 120 kW | A link to the DSO's control room (SCADA), with an on-site data unit (RTU), a telecom line, a power meter, an inverter certified to EN 50549-2 (above 120 kW) and a test with the DSO before connection |
| Above 200 kW | A new local substation |
| From 500 kW | A full power-quality recorder and a weather station. From 120 to 499 kW a simple power meter is enough |
| Above 1 MW | A connection to the medium-voltage grid |
The control-room link also has running costs. Over a mobile network it costs €50 to set up and about €15 a month, depending on data use. Over the DSO's fibre, where it's available, it costs €25 a month, and the DSO sets the set-up cost for each project. The test with the DSO's control room comes before the certificate of suitability is issued, so put it in the project timeline from the start.2
From 120 kW upwards, the DSO can limit your output
Below 120 kW, the DSO's receiver works like a simple switch that either lets the system run or switches it off. On a standard connection with the DSO's standard wiring, a cut-off disconnects the whole system, battery included, as it does for homes. The business then buys all its electricity from EAC.3
From 120 kW upwards, the DSO can hold the system at 100%, 60%, 30% or 0% of its power, or set it a specific output. The site must acknowledge the command within 3 seconds and reach the new level within 1 minute. Zero export at this size is switched on through the control room, so no second receiver is needed. When the grid needs it, the DSO can take output below the zero-export level too.2, 3
These systems get a remote-control receiver too, with stricter rules. On the command, the system must disconnect within 2 minutes and must not switch back on by itself. The receiver runs on a small backup power supply (UPS).2
This matters especially to a business with a battery. When the DSO limits output to 60% or 30%, or orders zero export, the solar and the battery keep working for the business. The DSO still keeps the right to go lower or switch the whole system off when the grid needs it. Systems of 120 kW and above are controlled in real time, and the grid operators' rules provide no compensation for curtailment.
Occasional zero export and your right
Below 120 kW, occasional zero export works as it does for homes. You apply to the DSO in writing, and the owner pays for the second receiver and the export controller. When solar output has to be limited, the system stops exporting, while the solar keeps covering the business and charging the battery. The DSO can still switch the system off completely when grid conditions demand it. From 120 kW upwards, the same thing is done through the control room.1, 3
The law gives every renewable self-consumer that can technically run at zero export, businesses included, the right that the solar power it produces and that stays on its premises is not curtailed. The exception is an emergency with no alternative.4 The three ways to connect in detail →
The battery in a business
A self-consumption battery charges from the business's own solar and powers the business itself. It normally doesn't charge from the grid or send energy to it. Only in an emergency can the grid operators ask it to work differently, and the rules don't yet make clear exactly what they can ask.1, 3 If the battery discharges at 120 kW or more, it also needs its own power meter.3
In a power cut, a battery can keep all or some circuits running as back-up, if the system meets the DSO's conditions and has an inverter that can run without the grid. The back-up is designed by the electrical engineer and checked by the DSO's inspectors. In a DSO cut-off, though, on a standard connection both the solar and the battery switch off.3
When the grid switches solar off →
Solar on another site, and in buildings with several units
A business can put solar on a field, another roof or even an empty plot, if renewables may be installed there, and offset its output virtually against its premises' consumption. The application is made by the person named on the electricity bill, with the landowner's consent. Each such system has its own production meter, and more than one is allowed for the same premises. A battery at that site may not charge from the grid unless the DSO calls for it in an emergency, and its power may not exceed the solar's.1, 3 You agree the commercial terms of the offsetting with your supplier. Whether the 2026 ban on solar on fertile farmland also covers self-consumption systems has not yet been made clear.
The units in one building, for example a commercial block, can share the output of one system. They appoint a representative, who tells the DSO how the output is shared. To put the system in a common area, such as the flat roof, you need the consent of owners holding 75% of the property, and common-area loads can be included in the system. How the shared energy is credited on each bill depends on your supplier's terms.1
Licences, deadlines and priority
Under the Electricity Market Law, renewable systems up to 50 kW need a notification (general licence), 50 kW to 8 MW an exemption from licensing, and larger ones a full CERA licence. CERA's exact procedure and fees should be confirmed at application. A battery used only on the premises needs no storage licence.5
After the DSO approves the application, systems above 10.4 kW have six months to install and connect, or twelve if the network must be extended. Otherwise the approval lapses. To add a battery or panels later, you first need the DSO's approval. Without it the change is illegal and the system can be disconnected, so plan both from day one.1
If the grid capacity reserved for self-consumers runs out, the DSO ranks applications by points. Solar with a battery whose discharge power is at least half the solar's power scores twice as many points as solar without one. Projects that need little or no grid work also score points. To enter the priority list, a project needs its CERA licence or exemption and its planning permit and building permit, or documented exemptions from them. The law requires the DSO to publish the priority order for each transmission substation, separately for projects up to 120 kW and above 120 kW.5
How exports are credited
Since 1 October 2025, a business freely arranges payment for its exports with its supplier or an aggregator. Under EAC Supply's net billing contract, the units you export are netted against the units you buy on each bill. Units left over at the end of the bill are credited in euros to your next bill, at the price EAC Supply publishes each month, 11c a unit at low voltage in every month of 2026 up to September. Any credit still unused at the yearly clearance is lost.6, 7, 8 How net billing works →
In 2025 there was a grant scheme, funded by the Just Transition Fund, for businesses that already had a renewable system and were adding energy storage. Self-consumers on net billing could apply too. Applications closed on 11 July 2025.
What to ask your installer
The DSO requires the inverter to meet EN 50549-1, or EN 50549-2 if the system is above 120 kW. It also accepts another standard with equal or stricter terms, and requires the inverter to be set to the values it specifies for Cyprus. The maker's brochure isn't proof, so ask for an independent lab certificate for this exact model.2
- Is my system below or above 120 kW, and is it worth staying below that limit?
- Is the inverter certified to EN 50549-1, or EN 50549-2 if the system is above 120 kW, for this particular model?
- Is the battery big enough for my working days, and does it hold at least as many kWh as the solar has kW, if I want the higher limit?
- Below 120 kW, will you apply for occasional zero export, and are the second receiver and the export controller in the quote?
- From 120 kW upwards, are the data unit, the telecom line, the power meter, the UPS and the test with the DSO's control room in the quote and the timeline?
- Will the system work as back-up in a power cut, and will it meet the DSO's conditions?
- Will you set the charge rate so the battery isn't full before the solar reaches its peak output?
See your business's numbers
Our business calculator shows how many years solar and a battery take to pay back and how much you save, based on today's EAC electricity tariffs. It takes less than a minute.
If your business has a smart meter, our guide shows you how to register on the EAC DSO portal, where you see for free how much electricity the business uses every half hour.
Keep reading
If you install solar without a battery in a congested area, you may lose more than half of its output.
In a congested area, new solar usually connects only if it never sends energy to the grid. In the example we worked out, a home without a battery loses 53.6% of its output. See how much the same home saves with a battery.
SolarWith occasional zero export, you can use the power from your solar panels on curtailment days too.
With occasional zero export, a curtailment first stops only your export, and your home can keep using its own solar. You apply in writing to EAC's DSO and pay for the equipment; the DSO can still cut production off.
SolarOn the DSO's map, 21 of Cyprus's 52 areas are congested, so new solar there may not be able to export.
The map of EAC's DSO shows 21 congested areas out of 52, where new solar may connect only with permanent zero export. In our example, without a battery more than half the output is lost.
References
- EAC's DSO, Connection guide for active customers and self-consumers, 15 May 2026. EAC (PDF, in Greek)
- EAC's DSO, Technical guide for RES systems up to 15 MWp, edition 2026.1, 15 May 2026. EAC (PDF, in Greek)
- EAC's DSO, Technical guide for connecting storage systems, edition 2026.3, 15 July 2026. EAC (PDF, in Greek)
- RES Promotion Law 107(I)/2022, consolidated, Articles 2 and 38(2). CyLaw (in Greek)
- Electricity Market Law 130(I)/2021, consolidated, Articles 26, 27 and 95A. CyLaw (in Greek)
- CERA, announcement on payment for self-consumers' exports from 1 October 2025. CERA (in Greek)
- EAC Supply, net billing contract (version 6, August 2026), clause 7.1. EAC (in Greek)
- EAC Supply, RES energy purchase prices 2026, by month. EAC (in Greek)
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This article is provided for information only and is not financial or legal advice. The limits and rules come from the DSO's published guides and may change. Switch is not responsible for decisions made in reliance on it.