In the run-up to the last general election, the Labour Party had committed itself to adhere to the European Union’s targets on renewable energy but also to reconsider the ‘mix’ of energy sources to achieve them.
It now appears clear that in government, with responsibility for renewable energy resources firmly lodged with the Minister for Energy and Health, this country’s performance has been abysmally slow. With only 1.4 per cent of energy being produced from renewable sources, Malta is firmly stuck at the bottom of the EU league table.
Worse, it appears that thousands of euros that had been invested in assessing the viability of wind farms (a possible element of the energy mix) may have literally gone with the wind as the government appears increasingly reluctant to pursue the plan.
In fairness, the former Nationalist administration had struggled to take the steps necessary to pursue wind farms as a possible renewable energy source. Its plan had been to have one offshore wind farm and two land-based.
Right up to the calling of the general election they had denied any slippage in plans and emphasised that studies to establish the viability of the offshore wind farm at Mellieħa were still under way since without it the two onshore wind farms would not be viable.
Eighteen months later, and with a new minister at the helm, it would appear that the position remains the same. When pressed on the issue, Konrad Mizzi said that “the final decision on these wind farms will be taken once technical, environmental and feasibility studies are concluded”. Plus ca change.
When pressed further, the minister said that “Malta will reach the projected [targets] for 2014 by using photovoltaics, solar, thermal and biofuels”. This would fit with the government’s long-held scepticism about the feasibility of wind energy and its wish for the country to focus on solar energy, especially given its agreement with China’s Shanghai Electric to develop and build a renewable energy infrastructure in Europe, a move which holds considerable attraction for China’s debt-fuelled solar energy industry.
Moreover, it appears that operators in the renewable energy sector have cast doubts on the feasibility of the plans to rely on wind energy and there may now be a realisation that the proposed offshore wind farm at Mellieħa may be unfeasible. Despite the not inconsiderable feasibility study costs incurred, this would dovetail conveniently with the government’s scepticism about wind energy, as well as boosting its new-found commercial contacts with China.
While the Labour Party’s intention to re-examine the renewable energy mix if elected may have been commendable, the fundamental and inescapable thrust of any review should have been to ensure that Malta’s efforts to achieve viable alternative sources of energy were pursued with greater alacrity.
There seems no longer any need to prevaricate over a decision on wind farms provided, however, that the government is confident that by leaving wind out of the equation it will still manage to meet its commitments to provide 10 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.
Although action is belatedly in hand to replace our fossil fuel-burning energy plants with less polluting sources of energy, the need to back this up with substantial alternative, renewable energy is still absent. The bottom line is that Malta’s efforts to meet the target set by Brussels are being hampered by lack of decision on the setting up of wind farms and insufficient investment in solar energy. The time for further prevarication should now be over.