Taking up business opportunities in the field of renewable and alternative energy sources can create new jobs, but the field needs a strong regulatory framework, said Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit yesterday.
Mr Zammit was speaking at a seminar organised by the German Embassy, EUROMEDITI and Fraunhofer SIT (Malta) with the support of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise and the Federation of Industry.
He said renewable energy and energy efficiency were topics that were constantly gaining importance. “These topics are serving as instigators for the possible ushering-in of an array of exciting new technologies that may lead to greater opportunities for wealth- and job-creation,” he said.
Mr Zammit said: “We are living at a time fraught with the dangers caused by changes in the world’s climate. As citizens of the world, we have to do our part in contributing to the world’s climate abatement and reversal.”
He said that this problem, which affected the whole world, required local solutions, which can then be again developed and projected on a global level.
“In Malta, we have set our focus on growth in certain areas of the market of renewable sources of energy which is why the government introduced incentives to favour the uptake of technologies in the solar thermal, photovoltaic and micro-wind turbines sectors,” said Mr Zammit.
He said the exploitation of the business opportunities presented by these new markets also required a sound regulatory framework whereby the optimum environment can be created for the growth of an energy market for renewables.
He said that while most enthusiasm with regard to these new technologies was justified, various forms of renewable energy were still in their early stage of development, and were and would remain costlier for the foreseeable future than traditional sources of energy produced by the combustion of fossil fuels.
“However, it is certain that once a critical mass of research and development is channelled and sustained, also in a public-private initiative context, more affordable and commercially-viable technologies shall emerge,” said Mr Zammit.
The minister said that one could refer to the Maltese experience in promoting the use of renewable sources of energy, as in the case of photovoltaic and solar-water heating and cooling technologies.
“The increase in use of low-carbon solar technologies can have a three-fold beneficial effect. Although initially negligible, these will become increasingly more significant in reducing the consumption of electricity generated from the burning of fossil fuels, thus reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses.”
Secondly, said Mr Zammit, such a decrease in the use of petroleum products would also contribute to the diversification of Malta’s energy-mix and, at the same time, enhance the security of supply.
“A third benefit, which may be termed as psychological, will derive from the ‘publicity factor’ in educating and promoting to the public the use of renewable energies. In this sense, the government is leading by example,” he said.
Citing examples, Mr Zammit said that moderately-sized photovoltaic installations have already been put in, including one in a state school and the other on the roof of a building that houses a section of the Works Division at Floriana.
The government has introduced a grant on the capital outlay of grid-connected micro-wind turbines for domestic users and on a larger scale, the government was exploring the feasibility of the construction of offshore wind farms which may give a major contribution to the total electricity demand.
“Another important contribution will be derived from the Sant’Antnin Waste Treatment Plant. This plant is expected to provide sufficient electricity to supply hundreds of homes.
“The proposed waste-to-energy digestion plant will utilise around 35,000 tonnes of organic waste, a process that reduces considerably the possibilities of aquifer and marine pollution and reduces carbon-dioxide emissions due to less electricity generation at the power stations,” said Mr Zammit.
He said other projects included the biogas project at Maghtab and the greater use of biodiesel for transport purposes, which will provide a practical platform for sustainable renewable energy in Malta.
“We are 100 per cent in favour of sustainable and cost-effective renewable energy. If we could, we would generate all our energy needs through renewable energy, who would not?” he said.
“However, we have our spatial limitations, some forms of renewables are still expensive when compared to commercial generating systems, and so it is clearly obvious that we have to proceed in a gradual, pragmatic and sustainable manner,” said Mr Zammit.