Tapping wind energy

Further to Ing. R. Vella's article ("Securing energy supply through intelligent use, The Sunday Times, December 15), it is opportune to give additional details about research and issues relating to wind energy as a renewable energy resource in Malta.

The seven-year ongoing Wind Research Project is one of the core research studies of the Institute for Energy Technology and is specifically aimed at quantifying the Maltese Islands' wind resource to determine the potential for electricity generation using wind turbines.

To date, this work has shown that the locations studied so far, both on land as well as offshore, do possess appreciable wind resources comparable to those of countries already reaping the benefits of this technology.

Such statements are based upon results yielded by a combination of measurement programmes using appropriate instrumentation and recording devices, mathematical modelling, and subjective field studies according to international standards used in the wind industry.

Key results from this particular phase of the research have been reported upon in a number of learned journals and conventions including a poster presentation at the recent Enemalta conference.

Additional information about these may be accessed at: http://home.um.edu.mt/ietmalta/activity.htm

This said and done, establishing the potential for wind turbines goes well and truly beyond good site-specific wind characteristics. A good wind resource is but one of myriad prerequisites that need to be addressed in order to present a holistic and complete picture of Malta's wind potential.

Planting any wind turbines on a hill exposed to the prevailing winds will see electrical power generated. Whether that turbine is matched to the site's particular conditions and moreover operate in harmony with its surroundings is another matter.

This technology can only be successful if implemented in a way that suits the environment it operates in, as well as the people it is serving. It is for these reasons that popular concerns of a technical, as well as a social and environmental nature, also need to be addressed to ensure a holistic appraisal of this nation's wind potential.

The Institute's Wind Research Project has carried out several studies in this respect. It also constantly strives to identify available state-of-the-art wind turbines that would realistically match the wind regime for each specific area subject to landscape patterns, inter-machine spacing, and turbine visual impact on the surroundings.

Additionally, the effects on historical and ecologically sensitive sites, species interaction, telecommunications issues, marine and aerial traffic, road infrastructure and grid-connection are tackled.

Offshore wind farms are making headway internationally and the potential in Maltese coastal waters is enticing especially in view of our ever-growing concern with land usage. However, the benefits of going for offshore wind do not come without additional investment. The initial capital outlay and operational costs of such plants are understandably much higher when compared to projects of the same rating on land.

To date a number of offshore reefs have been studied with one particular location off the northeast coast coming in for a full-blown case study earlier this year.

Notwithstanding this, we cannot shrug off the land-based potential for wind power. A popular misconception echoing the technology's early days is that to implement the technology one requires huge land areas supporting scores if not hundreds of turbines. The modern concept is to design much smaller 'clusters', located in a way as to suit and mitigate the impact on all the parties concerned. This is feasible now that larger, more efficient and quieter wind machines are readily available.

No number of wind turbines can ever supply Malta's ever-increasing demand for electricity. The intermittent and intrinsically unpredictable nature of the wind presently precludes this, although energy storage systems can arguably alleviate this issue in the future. Likewise, one can neither guarantee the continuous supply of fuel oils for power generation, nor the flow of hard currency required to purchase at favourable conditions.

Part of the solution to these facts lies in diversifying the electricity generation mix of the Maltese Islands. Wind is the renewable energy resource of our age. Wherever the potential and favourable conditions exists, wind generation is becoming competitive. As such, I cannot but fully agree with Ing. Vella that wind generation projects should be "encouraged and assisted at all costs, since from an environmental point of view they are a step in the right direction".