Malta should reduce oil dependence - AD

MALTA should seriously start reducing its dependency on oil to generate electricity and use alternative energy sources instead, Alternattiva Demokratika said yesterday.

AD chairman Harry Vassallo said at a press conference yesterday that the government's lack of sound policies was leaving the country dependent on a finite and expensive source when it could promote the use of wind and sun to generate electricity.

Dr Vassallo said the fact that Malta depended exclusively on oil meant that with each increase in price on the international market, the Maltese economy would have to absorb all the negative shocks - and the prices of petrol, diesel, electricity, water, bread and public transport would increase for local consumers.

"This is a pity when sun and wind are readily available. The government should create fiscal incentives to promote the use of solar water heaters, solar panels and photovoltaics on houses, hotels, factories and government departments," Dr Vassallo added.

The AD chairman suggested that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority should offer a set of guidelines so that future buildings are constructed in a way that it would reduce heat loss in winter and keep the heat out in summer.

He continued to state that decades of a monopoly in the energy sector had led Enemalta to become inefficient. He stressed that any household in Malta could generate electricity if properly equipped, with the possibility of generating excess energy that could be bought by Enemalta as Maltese houses were equipped with two-way metres.

AD international secretary Ralph Cassar said wind technology made it possible for a country like Malta to generate significant amounts of its energy needs. Organic waste was another source of energy through the gases that are produced naturally and which may be gathered to generate electricity.

Mr Cassar added that the Malta Resources Authority should be strengthened and made more autonomous. "It should monitor air quality in Malta to ensure that people's health is properly safeguarded."

He also slammed the government for not providing information on its energy policy.

"The transport authority's car emissions alert campaign is a positive step in the right direction. However, government entities that are emitting hazardous emissions, such as the St Luke's Hospital incinerator and the Marsa Power Station, should be addressed."