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James Debono
The Maltese government has presented its policy on renewable energy sources to the European Commission before actually presenting it to the Maltese people.
The report also shows clearly that Malta will fall short of the five per cent target for electricity produced from renewable energy sources by 2010, which was agreed upon with the EU in the accession process.
In fact Malta will barely manage to produce one per cent of its energy needs from these sources if a large scale onshore wind farm, and a waste combustion plant, are not developed by that date.
A public consultation on renewable energy was expected to start in October 2005, the Ministry for Resources and Infrastructure had said back in September.
Studies conducted by consultants Macdonald Mott UK on Malta’s renewable energy plans have however already seen the light abroad twice – first presented by the government to the EU, and later at a conference in Rome on 16 November.
The report was sent to the Commission to report on Malta’s progress on the implementation of Directive 2001/77/EC, whose target for the share of renewable energy production is 12 per cent of total energy use, with renewable electricity production increasing to 22 per cent of total electricity consumption by 2010.
Malta’s report to the Commission points at wind, solar photovoltaic, biomass wastes, landfill gasses and sewage treatment plant gas as suitable alternative energy sources.
The report has however set its target for electricity generated from renewable energy by 2010 at 0.31 of gross consumption – but the target may be increased to 1.37 per cent with the help of land-based wind farm if this were constructed:
“Without the construction of at least one large scale onshore wind farm, the target for generation of energy from wind and solar energy by 2010 would be very low and estimated at 0.07-0.09 per cent of gross electricity consumption,” the report says.
Policies still need to be developed however on photovoltaic and small scale wind turbines, the report reads, “to remove existing barriers.” Some 40 to 80 new solar photovoltaic plants are envisaged to be installed every year between 2008 and 2010.
And the EU’s three per cent target Malta is expected to reach on electricity generated from waste can only be achieved through the construction of a waste combustion plant, which comes at significant investment costs. In the absence of this facility, the national target for energy from waste in 2010 is set at a 0.24 per cent.
The report also mentions the possibility of electricity generation from agricultural waste. It refers to a draft report by Sustech Consulting on agricultural waste, recommending the digestion of the manure of cattle, poultry and rabbits in three or four anaerobic plants.
But due to the investment required for these plants, it is unlikely these will be operational by 2010.
Things will change however after 2010 when two offshore wind farms, a waste combustion facility and the anaerobic plants will be place.
The government’s conservative targets contrast with more ambitious targets set by the Institute for Energy Technology of the University of Malta, whose study claims the cumulative contribution of solar, wind and biomass could reach 24 per cent of the total electricity generated in 2003.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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