Progress was made in Malta’s bid to meet the EU 2020 renewable energy targets, the National Audit Office found.
However, a report tabled in Parliament earlier in the week concludes that reaching the 10 per cent target in two years’ time “is not a foregone conclusion”, particularly as the implementation of government plans to cover significant areas of the island, mostly disused quarries, with solar farms is far from being implemented.
After studying the implementation of the island’s national renewable energy action plan, which was launched in 2010, the Auditor General said that, despite that marginal variances between the pre-determined target and the actually connected PV installations so far, “it can be considered that Malta is on track to attain its 2020 obligatory national and European Union targets”.
The NAO is however concerned that lack of concrete progress on one of the most important pillars of the strategy – the installation of mega solar farms – might hinder the attainment of final results.
“Although most of the administrative groundwork is concluded, a degree of uncertainty prevails as the evaluation to the competitive bidding process is yet to commence”, the NAO says.
Malta is on track to attain its 2020 obligatory national and EU targets
“Additionally, some planning issues are still to be fully resolved,” it adds.
According to an agreement with the EU, Malta has to consume 10 per cent of all its energy requirements through renewable energy sources by 2020.
According to the national plan, re-written after Labour’s return to power in 2013, Malta will attain 4.7 per cent of the mandatory target through solar photovoltaics (PVs). Originally, the country planned to reach wind-energy targets through the building of offshore farms. However, a shift to solar energy was announced after the change in government.
So far, not many solar farms have been built, bar a small installation in Fiddien, limits of Rabat.
In 2013, a government spokesman had admitted to this newspaper that the project was ambitious but it was confident solar farm policy would be achieved on time.
In its report, the Audit Office notes that by the end of 2016, the progress registered in meeting renewable energy targets was reflected in the energy produced through PVs, mainly in the domestic and residential sector, which amounted to 2.1 per cent.
“This implies that, in the forthcoming four years, consumption of energy through PVs is to increase from about 83 Megawatt peak (MWp) in 2016 to 185 MWp by 2020,” the report remarks.
Various State and European Union subsidised schemes were successfully launched, encouraging private citizens and businesses to install PV panels on their residences and commercial buildings.
Of course, these come at a cost.
According to the NAO, by 2016, the government has forked out €144 million on the schemes: €84 million in feed-in tariffs and €60 million in grants on investment through EU funds.
The NAO points out that some tweaks are necessary in the national renewable energy plan as “it does not fully support the attainment of the 2020 targets with measured specific goals and targets.”
In a statement on Wednesday, the Energy and Water Agency said it took note of the recommendations which would be taken fully onboard in the National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030, currently being developed.
The plan, it said, would not only identify Malta’s commitments and targets for 2030 but also quantify policies and measures necessary to achieve these goals. An impact assessment shall form part of the exercise.
A data consolidation process, it said, was underway within the framework of existing and upcoming data protection regulation.