An early milestone was reached last week on the long road to serious exploitation of alternative energy. Planning permission was granted for the erection of a mast at L-Aħrax tal-Mellieħa to measure wind strength, with a view to establishing an offshore wind farm at the nearby Sikka l-Bajda. The measurements will be carried out for two years.
Alternative energy technology is evolving very slowly and there is no universally agreed preferred option. Geothermal, solar, tide and wave energy are all considered viable alternative energy sources. The government's favoured approach at this stage is to build wind farms. It plans three in all, two on land and the one, by far the largest, offshore, at a total cost of more than €300 million.
In some ways it a forced move. But there's nothing like the fear of missing a deadline to elicit action. By 2020, Malta needs to meet its EU obligations whereby at least 10 per cent of local electrical energy production would come from renewable energy sources, in parallel with cutting down on CO2 emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by the same year. The Prime Minister has warned that unless we conform to these obligations Malta will pay a heavy economic price. The absolute need to meet these targets had apparently prompted the government to change tack and abandon its previous preferred option of deep-sea technology wind farms because this technology has recently made little progress.
Generally, the reaction to the government's wind farm plan was positive when it was first announced a few months ago, both environmentally and politically. Labour and Alternattiva Demokratika are in favour of wind energy in principle, the latter having long proclaimed the need to go down this path. Understandably, given how Malta dragged its feet for so long, there is a degree of scepticism on whether it will be generating the needed amount of electricity from alternative sources in just over a decade, EU targets or not. But at least things now seem to be moving.
No doubt new obstacles will present themselves. While it seems that the planners have gone to great lengths to ensure birds at L-Aħrax will be protected from the mast, it was suggested that the structure may have to be moved a few hundred metres away should it affect the Shearwaters in the area. It is inevitable that the environmental, visual and noise impact of wind farms will antagonise some, but the big picture must ever be kept in mind: the project's overall environmental and health benefits.
Perhaps the most serious concern is that which relates to the technical viability of the chosen sites. It would be a great shame if it turns out that the wind power in the selected sites is inadequate for most of the year. The government needs to be realistic and draw up alternative plans, such as the harnessing of solar energy, to reduce the risk of failure should the wind farms solution prove to be ineffective.
To be successful, it also needs to involve all interested parties, ranging from environmentalists to political parties, academics to local councils. The Mott MacDonald report commissioned by the government in 2005 clearly recommended the continued involvement, consultation and education of the public regarding the introduction of any system that in some way impacts their daily lives.
The adoption of alternative energy technology should not be a sporadic effort motivated by looming deadlines but a continuous, transparent process that keeps the public informed of developments.