Wind farm off Gozo 'to be considered further'
A wind farm off the coast of Gozo is "not being excluded" and will be "considered further" as part of the Eco Gozo initiative, even though it would be considerably smaller than the one planned for Sikka l-Bajda, according to the Resources Ministry.
"But it is much more difficult to convince private companies to invest in a small offshore wind farm than a similarly sized one on land," warned Tonio Sant, a sustainable energy expert working with the ministry.
The ministry was asked to respond to criticism by physics professor Edward Mallia who said a wind mast should have been set up in Gozo to study the potential of the sites.
He pointed out that Resources Minister George Pullicino had hinted that if the proposal to install a wind farm at Sikka l-Bajda did not go through, Malta would be "stuck" and may need to renegotiate its EU renewable energy 2020 targets - something the EU said would not be possible.
But Prof. Mallia said a wind measuring mast in Gozo would offer the government backup in case the Sikka l-Bajda proposal failed to go through.
Although a wind farm off Gozo's northern shore would not be as productive as that of Sikka l-Bajda, initial studies showed it could generate around 4.3 per cent of the electricity generated by power stations today, so it could not be ignored, he said. Prof. Mallia's plea became more urgent since a team of marine geologists last month discovered two large hollows (or sinkholes) at Sikka l-Bajda, thought to be the result of weathered cave-like features whose roofs collapsed over time.
Prof. Mallia has estimated that these caves - 240 and 120 metres wide respectively - would cause between two and four of the wind turbines to be scrapped from the 19 turbines being proposed. His "rough guess" assumes that the turbines would be able to be placed around the sinkholes but not inside them.
But the damage could be even more considerable if the reef contains other, as yet undiscovered, sinkholes, the roofs of which have not yet collapsed.
Asked to react to Prof. Mallia's calculations, the ministry said that before drawing any conclusions it would wait for the detailed study of the reef undertaken as part of the Environment Impact Assessment in the coming weeks.
However, Dr Sant pointed out that since the turbines would be placed 400 metres away from one another, a cave of 240 metres would not necessarily create too much of a hindrance.
Prof. Mallia and Dr Sant were part of the expert committee appointed by the ministry to study the Sikka l-Bajda site.
The report says: "While problems associated with having a wind farm project at Sikka l-Bajda are by no means insurmountable, the possibility of having offshore wind farms at other sites, particularly the north Gozo shore, should be kept under review..."
It is still unclear why a wind mast was not set up on the Gozitan coast. When asked, the ministry spokesman said measuring masts could not be placed all over the islands.
Another difficulty is that the wind farm would have to be closer to land and would therefore have a more imposing visual impact than the one at Sikka l-Bajda.
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M.DeBono
Jun 6th 2010, 22:05
Good, let's ruin the northern coast of Gozo - for just 4.3% of the power generated by the power stations!!! Bye bye natural beauty of Dahlet Qorrot, San Blas, Ramla, Xtajta, Ghajn Barrani, Marsalforn, Qbajjar, Xwejni, Wied l-Ghasri. Actually almost all of Gozo's beaches, and of course tourist spots, are situated in this area. Noisy gigantic eyesores on the horizon are actually what tourists are missing at the moment!!
Edward Mallia
Jun 6th 2010, 19:11
Bahrija wind farm is to have 12 x 850kW = 10.2MW-- only 1/4 of the 21 x 2MW = 42MW proposed offshore farm. Tonio Sant may be privy to as-yet-unrevealed 'on-shore' plans: a wind farm at Armier shanties, say.
The output estimate of 4.3% of 2007 power station generation was made using only periods when the farm was exposed to wind coming in over the sea and not from over the Gozo land mass. This was required as wind velocities were measured at Gordan lighthouse.
@ Franco J Scicluna: you should have taken the trouble to look at a bathymetric map before spouting. There is a wide strip of sea inside the 30m-depth contour from Xwieni Bay to the eastern end of San Blas Bay. There is no absolute need to have a mast in the sea; plenty of good land sites, with no bother to the Gozo airport runway!
@ G.Vassallo: This farm would be built in the sea not on 'OUR ISLAND'. In any case when I asked the Minister for Gozo whether she would support the project, she said unequivocally: Jekk nibnuh inzommuh ghalina! You cannot get better than that for patriotism or worse for engineering.
janet Bayes
Jun 6th 2010, 16:54
well, why dont we just build the darn wind farm in with the proposed marine at hondoq. It would give the hotel guests something technical to look at, instead of the natural beauty of the place eh?? Something for us all to be proud of, whatever language we speak!! LOL. It wont take much to build one - - and its wont be too noisy when its going ( I jest of course) Wind energy is not silent by any stretch of the imagination, and it is certainly UGLY to look at.
Andrew Cumbo
Jun 6th 2010, 16:25
Let’s not swarm with considerations, definitely Wind Turbines are much more environmental friendly and safer than a Heavy Fuel plant power station. We need to get down to the facts, and think about things that matter.
Charles Zammit
Jun 6th 2010, 16:06
In a spat or irony the resources ministry boasts of clean and environmentally friendly technology for the north side of the island whilst a heavy fuel power station is being built on the southern part. Why not Eco south too not Eco Gozo only??
Christian Sciberras
Jun 6th 2010, 14:28
"Another difficulty is that the wind farm would have to be closer to land and would therefore have a more imposing visual impact than the one at Sikka l-Bajda."
Who the f* cares. Tourists most certainly not, they would at least be seeing something more technologically advanced, for a change.
""But it is much more difficult to convince private companies to invest in a small offshore wind farm than a similarly sized one on land," warned Tonio Sant, a sustainable energy expert working with the ministry."
Ah, glad we have a corporate expert in the group. Did you maybe perhaps cross your mind to send a questionnaire to said companies? Or is this another "rough guess"?
"It is still unclear why a wind mast was not set up on the Gozitan coast. When asked, the ministry spokesman said measuring masts could not be placed all over the islands."
Looks like the guy doesn't like Gozo. Perhaps next time he's taking his holiday here he wouldn't bother taking a cold shower and eating uncooked food. Hard times!
G. Vassallo
Jun 6th 2010, 14:08
ANYTHING ELSE TO RUIN OUR ISLAND????? WHAT ELSE COULD POSSIBLY BE BUILT ON GOZO???
Joseph Grech
Jun 6th 2010, 13:41
I sincerely hope somebody will remember we are supposed to drill for oil to the north of Malta :) one day....so Minister George Pullicino kindly do not set up the Wind Farm too near the place where oil will be gushing to the surface north of Gozo! Or is it just promises.... promises from this administration? Then all is hushed up until the next election....how irresponsible!
Also, Hon. P.M. and Leader of the Opposition, is it true that E.U. Agricultural Funds earmarked for projects by Farmers / Herdsmen are ending in the wrong pockets?
That is the widespread rumour...and rumours often have at least a measure of truth in them!
What are these E.U. Funds being used for? To date Resources Minister George Pullicino has - as far as I know - not answered.
Hopefully the relevant E.U. Commissioner will wake up and order E.U. Auditors to check about this situation. E.U. citizens (myself included) insist E.U. Agricultural Funds are used for the projects for which they have been earmarked.
Where does the P.L. stand in this issue? No wonder the Farmers' coopertives are angry at what has been reported to be going on!
Roy Perry
Jun 6th 2010, 13:36
A wind farm on Duke Island, between Australia and Tasmania has been operating for some years. The energy generated is stored in a huge 'battery' which consits of an old quarry filled with a special, non-corrosive solution. This system has also been used at two European sites. Would a wind farm on land on the extreme South-West tip of Gozo, with its defunct quarries, serve a similar purpose?
Franco J Scicluna
Jun 6th 2010, 13:21
1 CANNOT THINK OF ANY SUITABLE POINT FOR A WIND MEASURING MAST AT SEA, FROM THE SOUTH WEST TO THE NORTH WEST OF GOZO, SINCE MOST OF THE SURROUNDING SEAS THERE, ARE VERY DEEP.
Edward Mallia
Jun 6th 2010, 13:07
The remarks attributed attributed to the 'Resources Ministry' by Christian Peregin lack conistency, to put no finer point on it. So 'it is much more difficult to convince private companies to invest in a small offshore wind farm than a similarly sized one on land'. While at the end of the report we have 'the wind farm would have to be closer to land and would therefore have a more imposing visual impact than the one at Sikka l-Bajda. But is Sikka l-Bajda 'a small offshore windfarm'? Of course not. Neither is the proposed Gozo farm. The latter, going to the 30m depth contour proposed for SB would have 21 x 2MW turbines (rotor diameter 80m), as against the 19 x 5MW turbines (rotor diameter 120m) for SB. So as far as visual impact, apart from the one or two facing Marsalforn (cf. Lou Bondi), it is not going to amount to much. Of course there will be some flicker effects on the Sicilian coastal lights at night.
How many wind measuring masts are there 'all over the islands'? Formally just the one at Armier. The Bahrija masts had another purpose; only one of them is measuring wind speed.