Banking on green electricity

HSBC Malta has commissioned a pilot project with a photovoltaic system at its new branch in Attard to reduce its carbon footprint as part of the HSBC Global Environmental Efficiency Programme.

The system is expected to improve energy-efficiency by 20 to 30 per cent.

The project was tailor-made in close collaboration with the University of Malta, which will be monitoring the system's performance and derive important data according to different parameters, such as weather conditions and panels direction.

The system is the largest of its kind on the island to be connected to the national electricity grid. In its first two months of operation, the panels generated 747 kWh of green electricity.

It is estimated the system will generate an average of 4,200 kWh per annum, enough to power the 24-hour Express Banking Lobby at the Attard branch, making this service carbon neutral, and offsetting 3.7 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.