Incentives needed for green energy

People investing in the generation of alternative energy should be given an incentive through proper compensation for feeding power into the grid but Enemalta was not considering this option at present, Enemalta chairman Alex Tranter said yesterday.

He said increasing the feed-in tariff would involve an extra expense for the corporation and would also mean that consumers would have to make up for this expense by paying higher prices.

Mr Tranter was speaking during the inauguration of 54 photovoltaic panels on the roof of its Luqa office.

The panels, at a capital expenditure of nearly €50,000, are forecast to produce enough electricity for four households of four people each. This system follows the installation of similar panels on the roof of Enemalta's offices in Kappara and Qawra and a wind turbine in Marfa.

As the sole producer of commercial electricity in Malta, Enemalta was taking small initiatives in favour of alternative energy, Mr Tranter said.

The Malta Resources Authority was meant to be the leader in such a debate on the need of more incentives, he said when questioned by the media.

Mr Tranter said the expense entailed in setting up photovoltaic panels could put people off from installing them at home since the capital expenditure was only recouped after 30 years with the present feed-in tariff - which is the same amount it costs Enemalta to produce electricity. To be viable, the feed-in tariff should be three times as much. Enemalta is not just installing panels on district offices to become self-sufficient but it is also trying to communicate to the public the results achieved from using the panels through constant updates on its website.

Data show that the energy generated by the wind turbine fluctuated throughout the year, while solar energy generation was more consistent. The energy produced by the panels peaked in summer while that produced by the wind turbine peaked in winter. Mr Tranter suggested a mix of the two technologies, which complemented each other, as the best option for Malta.

"Is the public ready to pay more for clean energy," Mr Tranter asked. He added that changes to the feed-in tariff needed "political decisions".

When asked about future plans, Mr Tranter said Enemalta hoped to be in a position to install another small wind turbine in another part of the island so as to have proper comparative data.