Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/392875
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2014 10 News MIRIAM DALLI SOLAR energy farms will be the Labour government's answer to the need for renewable energy in Malta, MaltaToday has learnt. The Ministry for Energy and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) are expected to publish a policy on solar farms in the coming weeks while the gov- ernment is still consulting on the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). Bound by the EU 2020 targets, Malta must produce 10% of its en- ergy through renewable sources by the year 2020. The Nationalist administration's original plan was to see the genera- tion of up to 4% of Malta's energy consumption derived from an off- shore wind farm at Is-Sikka l-Bajda off Mellieha. Plans submitted to Brussels in 2010 had shown that the main source of renewable energy would be three new wind farms, and the Sikka l-Ba- jda project was meant to be the big- gest source of renewable energy. Environmental NGOs had criti- cised the project since its inception, warning about the negative impact an offshore wind farm would have so close to the Ghadira Nature Reserve and areas of special conservation. Now, MEPA's environmental unit has warned that a wind farm could negatively affect land and sea uses, certain bird species and their migra- tory routes and the geology, among others. The Environment Protection Di- rectorate also warned that the pro- posed mitigation measures would not be enough. The Ministry for Energy now ap- pears to have scrapped all plans for wind farms in Malta. "The Sikka l-Bajda project is not feasible for a number of reasons. Hence, in its absence, the current government had to make other plans to reach the equivalent amount through other renewable sources," a spokesman for the Energy Ministry said. The spokesman said that a study to identify potential sites for wind farms was already carried out by Mott MacDonald "and practically all sites had issues". He explained that as Malta's bathymetry exceeds 50m within a few hundred metres from the shore- line – which is the limit for current wind farm technology – no alter- native site was suitable for such a project. "Hence the previous administra- tion's plans for renewable energy were based on weak foundations," the spokesman added. The government, the Energy Min- istry said, believed that solar energy was more feasible considering the climatic conditions of Malta. Biofu- els and other clean energy sources will also contribute to the govern- ment's plans for clean energy. "This year Malta will meet its in- terim target for renewable energy thanks to various schemes and feed- in tariffs which were implemented by the private industry and house- holds. It is our ambition to maximise the use of local renewable sources to reach our targets," the spokesman said. In his position as Resources Minis- ter, George Pullicino, today the Op- position's spokesman for energy, had argued that Malta would be "stuck" if the proposed wind farm turns out not to be feasible. Contacted by MaltaToday, Pul- licino said the proposed offshore wind farm project was subjected to the full environmental impact state- ment (EIS) once the site had been identified as a potential site for an offshore wind facility. The site, Pullicino added, had been shortlisted by a team of ex- perts appointed specifically to as- sess a number of alternative sites for offshore wind in Malta. The EIS had proved inconclusive on the bird studies and further studies were rec- ommended. "Unlike the recent experience with the LNG tanker in Marsaxlokk, these additional studies were initiated in close consultation with MEPA and all this before the application was submitted for formal approval by MEPA's board," he said. Pullicino confirmed that wind en- ergy formed an integral part of the NREAP. The action plan had been issued by the then Nationalist ad- ministration for that consultation and had been approved by the Euro- pean Commission. "Offshore wind, waste and solar were the three indigenous sources of clean energy that the PN in govern- ment was pursuing. It is still believed that the sea offers good opportuni- ties to help Malta reach its renew- able energy targets and it is unfor- tunate that nothing is being done by this Government to explore this potential further," Pullicino added. He argued that "the extra electrical energy – well beyond the real needs of our country – to be produced by the new LNG power station has de- motivated the government to do fur- ther work in this regard". "Offshore wind has evolved a lot with technologies capable of op- erating 12 nautical miles offshore. One hopes that land reclamation will have less of an impact than the is-Sikka l-Bajda project," Pullicino remarked. The Nationalist Party went on to criticise the government over the delay in publishing the NREAP, when asked for its proposals on how Malta could reach its 2020 targets. "The Opposition believes that the Government is already 15 months late in publishing its revised NREAP. Until such time that a new NREAP is published for consultation by the Labour government, the NREAP under the PN government remains the only feasible plan to help Malta reach its 2020 targets," the PN said. "These targets are less than six years away. The Government's deaf- ening silence in this respect is proof that Labour's roadmap on energy was and is still half-baked." OPPOSITION leader Simon Bu- suttil told party councillors at a gen- eral council in Gozo that he renew and regenerate the Nationalist Party into a strong, modern party under serious, professional leadership. In his speech to party delegates, Busuttil said he would give his party strong foundations to make it a vi- able alternative, win the people's confidence, and to vocalise the clear differences of principle with the La- bour government. Busuttil said the PN's first chal- lenge was that of updating party pol- icy and to make it its mission to be at the service of the people. "We must people's lives longer, of better quality, and of a higher stand- ard of living, allowing them to reach their ambitions – everyone, not just Nationalists." He said the PN could achieve this aim only the party's policies were built on political ideas, principles and values. "Every one of our policies must be informed of our ideals: be- ing a party that offers opportunities to everyone, in an inclusive and col- lective spirit. "This is the tripod of principles I believe is the best way that people can reach their potential: opportuni- ties for everyone to advance them- selves; solidarity for a society that leaves nobody behind; and a com- mon good that everyone can enjoy, like the environment, at nobody else's expense," Busuttil said. The PN leader said that in the com- ing days he would be announcing the leaders of 10 policy fora that will be mapping out the PN's forthcoming ideas. Busuttil said the PN's second chal- lenge was regenerating its structures, with new branches addressing equal opportunities, professionals, and the selection of candidates having al- ready been put into place. He said 31 candidates for the forthcoming local council elections had already been identified and that the PN would be hosting its first ever general conven- tion by the end of October for all paid-up members. Busuttil said restructuring the par- ty's media and restoring his party's finances were his two other chal- lenges, after having had to take on a multi-million euro deficit that shook the party earlier in 2013. Busuttil described the PN's role was to be an Opposition that criti- cizes the operation of a government at a time where the dialogue between the two sides was not serene, flagging a "divergence of principle, not just in style and operation." "We want our basic principles to be respected: these include democracy, equality, justice and transparency. On these principles, there are seri- ous differences between the Opposi- tion and the government. We're not going to ignore these differences," he said. Busuttil laid into Labour, saying its democratic credentials were stained by its years in power during 1981 and 1987, conjuring up the prospect of plans to postpone local council elec- tions for five years. "We are going to insist that these elections, as programmed at law, be held in 2015 and 2017, because we want voters to exercise their right. These are not things that happen in democratic countries: just take a look at what's taking place in Hong Kong, where China is demanding to choose which candidates stand for election." Busuttil mocked claims made by Labour that postponing the coun- cil elections to 2019 would save the country money. "This government is generous with its own inner circle, but is miserly on local democracy," he said, as he segued into Labour's incremental employment inside the public sector. "Edward Scicluna told the Euro- pean Commission that he would re- place 1,500 workers retiring from the public sector with 1,000 only... but in the first 13 months of government, civil servants increased by 1,600 replacements, and then over 2,000 workers again." Busuttil also criticised the gov- ernmnet for having amassed €413 million in national debt since its election, slowing down the growth of private sector compensation, and claimed that poverty – the people who could not afford basic needs – had increased "by the thousands". "Of course, that does not include people like the wife of energy min- ister Konrad Mizzi," he quipped, referring to the appointment of Sai Mizzi Liang as a trade envoy in Hong Kong. Wind farms scrapped for solar energy 'Opportunity, solidarity, and the common good' – Busuttil's foundations for PN mission Simon Busuttil