Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/321747
YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT maltatoday €1.20 YOUR FREE COPY OF VIDA INSIDE xxxxx 46/%":t+6/&t*446&t16#-*4)&%&7&3:8&%/&4%":"/%46/%": Government refusing to honour 'controversial' €35 million photovoltaic contract Newspaper post LYDIA CARUANA INTERVIEWED pg 27 THE government is refusing to hon- our a €35 million contract awarded to the Alberta Photovoltaic Consortium before the March 2013, after claiming that the contract will oblige taxpayers to fork out €11 million more to the pri- vate firm on feed-in tariffs for energy sold to Enemalta from solar panels. According to the contract, the feed- in tariff payable to Alberta, which will install PV panels over government building roofs, is much higher than the cost of energy per kilowatt-hours that normal residences pay. The 25-year contract covers the in- stallation of photovoltaic panels on the roofs of government buildings nation- wide. But an energy ministry spokesperson who spoke to MaltaToday described the contract as "shocking" because it "ignores the tariff structure and only favours the contractor." The Muscat administration is seeking legal advice on the contract awarded by former resources minister George Pul- licino on an expression of interest his ministry had issued for the PV project. The contract binds the government to pay Alberta 22c per kWh of energy pro- duced from the solar panels, when nor- mal customers are paid a 16c per kWh feed-in tariff. This works out at 6c9 more than the normal feed-in tariff, and is equivalent to €11 million more than would be ex- pected with a normal tariff structure. Interest in the EOI came from 15 companies, with the final contract binding the government for 25 years. In December 2012, shadow environ- ment minister Leo Brincat raised ques- tions in the House over the €10 mil- lion solar panel project awarded to the Alberta-Solarig consortium, demand- ing the publication of the agreement. Brincat had said the agreement announced in September 2012 had been for the generation of 6.5MW of energy, and three months later, scaled down to 4.5 megawatts. Solarig will develop more than 45 rooftop PV installations (67,000 square metres) on Maltese public buildings, after signing the concession agreement in consortium with a Maltese com- pany, for the technical design, construction and operation of these facilities. But while residential feed-in tariffs for the pro- duction of solar power sold to the national grid can be changed, as it is stipulated by legal notice, Alberta's feed-in tariff was locked in for the 25- year duration. The contents of the contract were scrutinised only recently and ministry officials pointed out the "one-sided conditions in the contract" had favoured the consortium. However from a legal point of view, the govern- ment faces a problem, since it is legally bound to accept and implement the contract and procras- tination on its part could lead to litigation. A heated debate in this week's PN executive pondered at length on whether to co-sponsor, together with Labour, the hunting federa- tion FKNK's petition calling for a change in the Referendum Act. As things stand, the PN appears to have stood its ground and will avoid endorsing the hunters' peti- tion. Executive committee members were divided amongst those who were keen to follow in Labour's footsteps, and those who argued that the PN must be different and allow the spring hunting referen- dum process to go ahead unhin- dered. Insiders told MaltaToday that there is a general consensus that Opposition leader Simon Busuttil should stay on but that "there will be no great shake-ups". "[PN secretary-general] Chris Said has tried his best. He has been trying to solve financial problems inherited by the utter mismanage- ment before him and at the same time organising a campaign. He has not even taken a wage for a long time," one insider said. The spring hunting referendum is the next big challenge for the Nationalist Party executive, and Simon Busuttil is being urged not to sit on the fence. But he is in a difficult position, since the hunt- ing lobby is famous for putting a great deal of pressure on politi- cal parties to comply to their de- mands, much to the chagrin of en- vironmentalists. SEE INTERVIEW PAGES 12,13 ZFBSTGPSNBOXIPSBQFEIJTZFBSPMEEBVHIUFSÆQBHF Busuttil interviewed: 'I considered resigning' PN executive to 'avoid' endorsing hunting lobby's petition Former resources minister George Pullicino (right) with Alberta's George Barbaro Sant (centre) - the solar panel project awarded to the Alberta-Solarig consortium is now being contested