€4m energy plant inaugurated

A state of the art heating and cooling energy production plant which uses sea water to heat and cool the Midi/Tigne point project and Tigne Point complex was inaugurated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this afternoon.

The system will be heating and cooling 25,000 square metres of retail space, 250 homes and 20,000 square metres of office and commercial space currently under construction at Tigne point.

The €4 million investment was made by Solutions and Infrastructure Services Ltd, a joint venture between Midi plc and technology giants Siemens, which produced the plant. It took 21,000 man hours to complete.

Gonzi said that the inauguration of such a plant was good news for Malta at a time when the energy sector was facing challenges, both with the rise in the price of oil, as well as with the challenge of climate change.

This plant was a clear example of what should be done. It complemented government initiatives in the energy sector such as the extension of the Delimara plant. This would provide cleaner energy to that being produced at the moment, especially with the closure of the Marsa power station, once this extension was up and running.

He also mentioned the use of government roofs for photovoltaics and said that 8,000 families and 100 companies took advantage of the various schemes government offered to entice use of cleaner energy production.

He also mentioned the smart metre project. So far 60,000 – a quarter of total number of smart metres - have already been installed.