More than 30 potential solar and wind farm projects in Europe have been identified through the partnership between Shanghai Electric Power and Enemalta.

These will have the capacity to generate 600 megawatts a day  more than Malta’s maximum demand of 400MW to power the entire island during a hot day.

“This project is planned to start by the fourth quarter of this year and aims to achieve the projected capacity within three years from the starting date,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

He was addressing the Eco Forum Global conference in Guiyang at a packed grand hall, the size of two football grounds.

Dr Muscat, the only European head of state at the conference, said Malta’s geographical insularity should not and did not equate itself with isolation.

The first European country that will benefit from such a renewable energy farm has already been identified and negotiations are being finalised for the first such joint Sino-Maltese project.

It costs around €1.2 million to produce 1MW of power, so this will be a huge investment that will reap benefits for the island.

We can bridge two crossroads: Europe’s border with Asia and the other with Africa

“The combination of know-how in technology through Shanghai Electric Power’s experience and Malta’s excellent performance in EU laws on competition and market barriers to entry and cultural issues will be a sure formula for success,” Dr Muscat said. The forum, whose title is a mouthful  ‘Joining hands, leveraging reforms to bring forth a new era of eco-civilisation’  saw the participation of former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, and former British deputy prime minister John Prescott, among others.

Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou Province with a population of 4.4 million, is developing rapidly and its mountainous region is punctured with hundreds of cranes that dominate the skyline over high-rise projects.

However, the conference chairman assured that they were developing while focusing on respecting the eco-system.

Dr Muscat too said his government was committed to a shift towards a green economy by implementing a strategy based on best practices that put the environment at the core of decisions, while aiming to achieve economic growth.

Addressing a workshop in the afternoon  ‘Building green Silk Road economic belt’  Dr Muscat was introduced as “an old friend of China”.

The Prime Minister, 40, joked that this was the first time he was referred to as “old”, as normally he was told he was young.

“The creation of a green and blue (maritime) Silk Road requires a common vision supported by commitment by all concerned,” he said, adding that in the absence of cooperation, action to combat climate would fail.

Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean, with centuries of interactions with different cultures and trading outposts, was today poised to assume the role as the westernmost end of the maritime Silk Road, providing a platform for trade and economic cooperation with Europe and North Africa.

“We can secure the extension of the Silk Road by bridging two crossroads: the far eastern borders of Asia with Europe and the other between Europe and Africa,” he said.

Dr Muscat flew back to Beijing last night and will return to Malta tomorrow.

NGO calls for realistic wind power prospects

Friends of the Earth Malta is demanding transparency on energy generation plans following media reports on the future of wind power.

According to the environmental group, this was of utmost significance especially in the light of recent Eurostat statistics that put Malta at the bottom of the EU list when it came to renewable energy production.

It also questioned the ministerial statement that claimed Malta will reach the projected renewable energy sources share for 2014 by using photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal (a contribution not easily assessed) and bio-fuel.

“This statement, in turn, raises further questions on the current PV production and on the likely limits on area – including possible marine areas –available for PV, the NGO said.

“After all the time and resources spent on wind energy studies, the public deserves to know what the realistic prospects for onshore and offshore wind turbines are. It is high time the government takes the renewable energy targets seriously and lifts Malta from the bottom of the European charts.”