The potential of renewable energies is presented for the territory of the Republic of Malta. These are in the main sun, wind and biogas. Taking the base year 2003 for comparing the percentage contribution of electricity generated from renewables to that generated from fossil-fuelled power stations, it was found that rooftop solar photovoltaic systems could produce 9.1%, onshore wind farms could offset 5.4% and the offshore wind potential lies in the region of 3.4%. Energy from waste could contribute another 5.6%, while widespread solar water heating in domestic buildings could offset 4.8%. Economic analysis of applying renewable energy power systems under the present constraints is carried out. A range of barriers to the use of renewable energy devices is described. The currently available incentives are listed and a number of measures that could be implemented to allow widespread applications of renewable energies are suggested ; peer-reviewed
The electrical energy requirements of the Maltese Islands are met in their entirety by two oil-fired electrical generation plants. In view of this complete dependence upon fossil fuels, investigations into the prospects of diversifying electrical generation by resorting to renewable energy technologies are particularly relevant. The archipelago has peculiar characteristics such as high population density, comparatively deep coastal waters and an economy based on tourism, manufacturing, marine-sector activities and services that make the integration of wind power generation projects challenging. Local government authorities commissioned the authors to assess the constraints related to wind farm development in a shallow water coastal area, known as is-Sikka l-Bajda, which could present a wind potential worth exploiting, and to recommend adequate mitigation measures to minimize any impacts and conflicts with stakeholders. These constraints include marine navigational aspects, fishing and aquaculture, tourism and other site-specific activities. Environmental constraints exist including the fact that the site is characterized by extensive seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) meadows, that it is a priority habitat under the EU Habitats Directive, and that the site itself is a reef - another priority habitat within the same directive. The proposed near-shore site is also in the vicinity of a protected coastal bird rafting and bird nesting site for the Yelkouan Shearwater species. Submarine noise generation - particularly during the construction phase - is also of concern in view of the regular sighting of marine mammals in Maltese coastal waters. In the site evaluation exercise, another secondary site in the Maltese Islands, located off the north Gozo coast, was also assessed. Mitigation measures specific to the Sikka l-Bajda site proposed by the authors include the deployment of silt curtains, bubble screens and unobtrusive turbine lighting devices and avoiding utilisation of the reef area closest to the protected bird colony. Such measures also relate to the choice of the array design to minimise visual impact and to the period of the year when wind plant construction and deployment should take place to minimize impact on avifaunal populations. By declaring the marine area contiguous to the proposed nearshore wind facility development as off-limits to fishing vessels, a de facto 'No-take' Marine Protected Area can also be effectively instituted. One also expects submerged components of the nearshore wind facility to be colonized within a brief period by a diverse fouling community and that the same components act as Fish Aggregating Devices (FAD's), greatly enhancing fish populations in the area. In view of the current paucity in Mediterranean nearshore wind power facilities, the proposed project could potentially serve as a pilot project for the whole region, and also become a tourist attraction. ; peer-reviewed
One of the very first paragraphs of the final chapter of the report, which I am commending to everyone's attention, says that the "institutional development" by which the Environment has been brought under my tutelage "has led to various reactions from the public". Not a whiff of justificatory comment on the move follows. That is the ideally objective and scientific spirit in which the environmental balance sheet of our country has been correctly couched. A reader of the WWF report on the Planet (written in preparation for the UN World Summit to open in Johannesburg on the 26th August) cannot help being struck by its contrastingly apocalyptic tone: it calculates that in just 50 years time, humankind may be forced to emigrate to some other planet, if it wants to survive. Two observations suggest themselves. On the one hand, a comparison of the figures and facts in the two reports indeed show that environmentally Malta is doing much better than the world as a whole – although that is a very relative judgment. On the other hand, because the environment is just one for the whole planet, it is in our interest, as well as our duty, to do our utmost to ensure an optimal outcome at Johannesburg. It is striking that the key concept emerging as central to the earth Summit is an unfortunately somewhat debased derivative of the Maltese concept of the "common heritage of mankind" and that the absolutely vital importance for the environmental future, especially in the context of climate change, of the Oceans (to which the Maltese concept was first applied) is being universally acknowledged. The reader of the Report will also be struck by the rare occurrence of such sentences as this: "Malta is currently transposing several items of EU legislation dealing with solid waste management into national legislation" (p575). Nobody will be unhappy at that – since solid waste disposal has been perhaps our most intractable environmental problem for years. In our negotiations with the EU, we have been striving hard, on the one hand, to get the proof that, even in the environmental area, the EU respects the great ecological value of diversity and individual, historically, geographically and culturally conditioned identity. However, there can be no doubt, that membership of the European Union will be a great boon for the Maltese environment both in its individuality and in the global context. The Report is written in the language of experts who speak of the situation with independent and non-political eyes. Other authorities may not agree completely with all their statements. But the Government as a whole will certainly use it as a management tool. So too, I am sure, will all the relevant, competent authorities. [preface] ; peer-reviewed