Limited land space is a major hindrance for the construction of solar energy farms but a university research project may yet solve the problem.

Looking towards the sea surrounding the islands, University of Malta researchers will be studying the possibility of floating photovoltaic panels.

The SolAqua project is still in its infancy and according to the project leader Luciano Mule Stagno it will be “a while” before results are out.

But Prof. Mule Stagno believes the project is “interesting” for a country with limited land area and an EU-imposed target of having 10 per cent of its energy supplied by renewable sources by 2020.

A brief outline of the project was given yesterday during a seminar organised by the university’s Institute for Sustainable Energy at the Dolmen hotel in Qawra.

The three-year project funded by a Malta Council for Science and Technology research grant is being carried out by the institute and private companies Pandia Energy and General Membrane.

The national renewable energy plan had targeted the production of 27MW of solar energy by 2020 but this is set to change as the Labour Administration plans to shift the emphasis from wind to solar power.

“The national renewable energy plan was very modest but I don’t blame policy makers because when it was drawn up PV panels cost three times the amount they do today,” Prof. Mule Stagno said.

Corrosion and exposure to rough weather were major concerns for floating PVs, he said.