It is now time for action

The announcement that the government would be submitting studies for the installation of wind farms in three locations in Malta last Tuesday is an important milestone in our country's push towards making use of alternative forms of energy. The identification itself of the pockets the government intends to exploit is an indication of the determination and will to move from words to action.

The government has formally 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 is being suggested 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. This site has been doing the rounds for a long time.

The magnitude of the project is evident in the numbers, the most powerful of which is the fact that the government is proposing a total wind farm production capacity that is equivalent to 9.6 per cent of Malta's electricity demand. This is exceptionally important in light of Malta's climate change obligations, which include the target of producing 10 per cent of its energy from alternative sources of energy by 2020.

Earlier this week I received one of the several postcards being passed around by the European Parliament Office in Malta and which intend to elicit debate in the run-up to the coming elections. The postcard read: "What kind of energy do we want?"

The 10 per cent alternative energy target will surely not be reached by investing in wind energy alone, at least in the short term. We must therefore gear up to invest in a portfolio of renewable means for the generation of electricity. To be fair, the government is already gearing up to this end through preparation for the generation of energy from waste and by investing further in the concept of renewable fuels.

Last Tuesday's announcement will, hopefully, pave the way for a serious discussion on the need for investment in alternative sources of energy and, more imminently, on pertinent issues relating to wind energy. What we certainly need is a nation-wide information campaign so that the general concepts and principles of wind energy are understood by one and all. It is useless to discuss the capacity and size of wind turbines if they are mentally equated to the small, and generally loud, domestic wind generators we find in some places around Malta.

The coming months will also give the necessary time for all the fears and misconceptions, which always crop up when something new is introduced, to be addressed. Foremost is the fear that wind turbines will create an immense amount of noise pollution and that wind farms are a frivolous investment when compared to options such as solar energy.

All misconceptions raised must be addressed through the presentation of well-founded information. For example, general research shows that wind farms are not as noisy as they are perceived to be. In fact, the American Wind Energy Association predicts the sound emitted by wind farms to fall within the range of 35 to 45 decibels from a distance of 350 metres, comparable to a quiet bedroom. To give two easy comparisons, the sound of a busy general office rises to 60 decibels and the sound of a truck approaching from 100 metres away is ranked at 65 decibels. Such datasets obviously indicate that the proposed offshore wind farm won't be causing any sleeping nightmares but that the necessary tests will have to be carried out for present and future onshore wind farm proposals.

On a purely technical level, the coming months will be crucial for the conduct of all the necessary studies with respect to the proposed wind farms. Last Tuesday's press conference heralded the presentation of a set of project description statements to Mepa for an assessment of their site suitability. Naturally, an in-depth scientific analysis will ensue, encompassing the aviation, maritime and environmental impact, which the proposed installations will create, and whether the wind activity in the areas justify the investment itself.

On any other occasion, a press conference announcing the initiation of review of proposed applications would have been returned with a mere acknowledgement. On this occasion however, the announcement of formal proposals was met with enthusiasm, even by those who are genuinely sceptical on the feasibility or soundness of wind farms. It is clear that the government wants to move from words to action in the energy and environmental sectors and that the link between the environment and the economy is being understood clearly.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david@davidcasa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu