Wind energy for Malta
When government sat down with the other EU Member States last December and agreed on a set of targets to counter the challenges fashioned by climate change, it became immediately clear that it was time to consolidate the information it had been...
When government sat down with the other EU Member States last December and agreed on a set of targets to counter the challenges fashioned by climate change, it became immediately clear that it was time to consolidate the information it had been collating for years, and move on to taking action.
It was therefore encouraging to see the Prime Minister yesterday, flanked by Minister George Pullicino, presenting the detailed Project Description Statements (PDSs) for three wind farms. Indeed, rumours had long been passing around that a number of proposed sites for the installation of wind farms would be announced, but being given a concrete breakdown of the magnitude of the idea and policy direction is a completely different matter altogether.
Government has proposed the establishment of wind farms in three different sites; a small land-based wind farm is envisaged for Ħal Far and another land-based wind farm has been put forward for Wied Rini, limits of Baħrija. The third proposal is directed at the offshore location of Sikka l-Bajda, a reef situated two kilometres off Rdum tal-Madonna at Aħrax Point in Mellieħa, and has been doing the rounds for a long time.
It's naturally still early to comment on the specifics of the sites themselves. We can however discuss the concept of wind energy itself and the general advantages and disadvantages which wind farms offer us.
I believe, for example, that government should embark on a nation-wide information campaign immediately to educate the general public; too many people consider the wind turbines that constitute a wind farm to be the equivalent of the rather noisy domestic wind generators we find in some places around Malta.
As the necessary studies are carried out, it is also essential that government continues mapping out the renewable energy plan for Malta. 2020 is very close, and Malta is obliged to substitute 10 per cent of traditional forms of electricity generation to alternative energy. One thing's certain however: this government is determined to move from words to action.