A new initiative for businesses that have invested in co-generation plants is being introduced, the government said.

Co-generation plants are units which simultaneously generate both useful heat and electricity. Such plants are typically used by tourism operators in heating up their swimming pools or as replacement for boilers in hotels, such that fuel is consumed more efficiently.

Businesses will now be able to export the excess electricity generation to the national grid thereby benefitting from a tariff to compensate for the extra unit of electricity generated.

Similarly, businesses that have already invested in photovoltaic systems and are benefitting from a feed-in tariff, and who have invested in co-generation plants, can benefit from separate rates for each installed system, whether this generates electricity from photovoltaic panels or from a cogeneration plant.

Minister for Energy and Health Konrad Mizzi said that the government is strengthening the existing incentives thereby offering more benefits to businesses that invest in energy efficient plants.

More information can be obtained from the Malta Resources Authority.