The relatively new (for Malta) technologies of solar panels and photovoltaic systems have now caught on, as a cursory look at our skyline shows.
The high prices of electricity have contributed to make us all energy-conscious and willing to find systems which may require an initial rather high outlay but offer great savings in medium to long term.
And, after all, it is rather a waste when one considers all the sunshine we enjoy, day after day, year after year, without being put to good use. The waste becomes more apparent now that the technology is available and the feed-in tariff from Enemalta (what one gets from Enemalta for putting electricity into the system) has been established.
It has come to our attention that Mepa has now begun to ask for an environmental certificate just as it asks for a compliance certificate before it allows a new building to be linked to the electricity grid.
This is not so widely known and it comes not a moment too soon.
This author has been shown instances where either criminally neglectful contractors or else householders not so hot on D-I-Y skills have turned the PV panels into death traps.
Some instances include: fixing the PV panels to rickety stone slabs (ċnagen) that can easily be blown over in a storm, tampering with the PV panels mounting so as to save a very small amount of money in buying and using the proper fastenings, leaving wires all higgledy-piggledy instead of fixing them properly by using conduits; connecting the wires with a cheap china connector rather than ensuring the proper connection is used, thus rendering the whole setup very dangerous, especially to children.
It is incredible that people who have paid around €1,000 or more for a PV system then skimp on the smallest, cheapest components and thus proceed to endanger anyone and everyone who can come into contact with the setup. It is incredible that the introduction of this new technology is being accompanied by a carelessness and a neglect that comes from primitive man.
We now have checks and controls over most areas of our lives, precisely so that dangers in the home may be avoided. For instance, only qualified electricians are allowed to set up and install electric networks into homes. But the addition of this new technology is often done by contractors and many times, some years after a building is completed. Many times contractors (this is also the case of air-conditioning units) are not linked to the importers. Many times some people prefer to look the other way.
Many of the importers are honest and do not cut corners. But with parallel importation, anyone can bring in a system from a reputable company. But this is an area where there is savage competition and where many times, people with the cheaper offer can make sales while those with high and legitimate systems may lose out.
In a normal country, it is the householders themselves who should be on the look-out for such shoddy and dangerous work done on their own property. There is not enough public awareness of the dangers that may lurk.
It would help, however, if Mepa effects surprise inspections to ensure that proper attention to health and safety has been observed. And before it gives a new house an environmental audit, it should properly check all the systems that have been installed.
After all, the validity and safety of such a system can be gauged not when the sun is shining and there is no wind, but on stormy nights that can tear down most things that are not properly fixed down.