The Planning Commission has approved the development of a photovoltaic farm on the roof of the Gozo sewage treatment plant. Trenching works connecting electricity cables to the existing substation have also been approved.

The site, which is located in Mġarr ix-Xini, limits of Għajnsielem, lies across the current main sewage outfall for Gozo at Ras il-Ħobż.

The approved communal solar photovoltaic farm system will cover a roof area of approximately 1,600 square metres, with each panel being inclined at an angle of 10 degrees. Trenching works shall cover an approximate length of 110 metres and depth of 0.8 metres.

The authority permitted a slight inclination to the panels because there was enough justification to show that such an inclination increased electricity generation by six per cent and aided the panels to ‘self-clean’ to reduce dust and rain accumulation.

It is also noted that, from photomontages, the 10 degree inclination did not appear to contribute to any visual impact to the surrounding landscapes.

The authority said this new approved photovoltaic farm was in line with SPED objectives RO1 and RO3 as the development would not take up additional undeveloped rural/natural land.

The approved permit also includes a decommissioning plan to ensure that once the lifespan of the PV farm elapses, the panels would be dismantled and the roof reverted back to its original vacant state.

The draft Solar Farms Policy, launched in 2014, provides guidelines for solar farm development with a priority given to large scale rooftops, car parks, industrial areas and quarries.

The policy encourages solar farm development, which achieves dual or multiple uses of land, and one of the preferred sites for solar farm installations is the roof tops and immediate curtilage of sizeable farm buildings and other similarly large structures, government buildings and large water reservoirs lying Outside Development Zone.