Owners of solar and photovoltaic panels will from now on receive their government grant only after the planning authority has issued a compliance certificate showing the installation is in line with a permit.

This requirement aims to stop the dark blue panels being set up at all angles, jarring with the landscape, the planning authority said.

The panels have mushroomed across rooftops, balconies and walls throughout the island since government financial schemes were launched in 2009.

Previously, the planning authority did not require a permit for their installation, leading to situations where the panels became an eyesore and intrusive.

However, the situation has now changed, such that a spokesman for the planning authority said a Development Notification Order (DNO) was now needed “to tackle the issue of the visual impact created by the installation of solar panels on roofs”.

The payment of grants for panel installation will only be made after Mepa certification ‘that the installation is in line with the approved drawings’

The DNO, a permit used for minor requests, will allow the authority to evaluate any proposed solar panels.

Following consultation with the Malta Resources Authority, the payment of grants for the installation of the panels will only be made once a compliance certificate is issued by Mepa, “certifying that the installation on site is in line with the approved drawings”.

The government only recently an-nounced that schemes and feed-in tariffs for private investment in solar energy will continue to be released on a rolling basis.

There will also be a new scheme for domestic feed-in tariffs, with a capital grant issued in the coming weeks.