€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.
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David Borg Bartolo
Apr 15th 2011, 17:03
Just to clarify even further... "Energy (electricity) cannot be generated from water"... i mean in the context of such combined heat and power systems - sea water. Of course, in hydro plants, electricity is generated due to the high potential energy of water masses in mountain regions / high lands. Other energy systems called OTEC use the temperature difference in the deep seas to generate electricity....
David Borg Bartolo
Apr 15th 2011, 08:19
Just to make some technical points clear: Energy (electricity) cannot be generated from water, water is the working fluid in this thermal system. There must still be energy input into the system from some heat source [combustion/solar energy etc]. The great benefit of such combined heat and power systems is that they increase the overall system energy efficiency of the site rather than importing utilities [electricity]. The payback period of this unit must have been attractive enough the justify rather than relying on an oil-based power plant with ever increasing utility bills. Very wise choice.
Mr Joseph Cutajar
Apr 14th 2011, 19:58
I 'm still waiting for the PV clean energy scheme to re=open, but when I check with MRA offices they tell me that there's no sign of this to happen.No luck.
Mr Kevin Sciberras
Apr 14th 2011, 17:21
Hopefully one day we will have a State of the Art government!! :)
Mr Joseph Brincat
Apr 14th 2011, 14:20
Hope it is more efficient than the other much acclaimed state of the art i.e. Mater Dei!
(JB)
David Caruana
Apr 14th 2011, 15:28
As far as I know, the equipment in Mater Dei IS state of the art - it's the human resource that is being stretched beyond limits.
Mr Joseph Brincat
Apr 14th 2011, 17:40
@David Caruana
What's the use of having a state of the art hospital (building & equipment) when there are lack of beds for the sick?
Bad planning from the onset.
(JB)