He mentioned three natural sources: biomass, wind and solar energy.
But an expert on solar panels, who called The Malta Independent on Sunday and who wished to remain anonymous, has contradicted Mr Riolo.
In the programme, Mr Riolo compared the various advantages and disadvantages of each energy source and said that solar energy is extremely expensive to install in Malta. Although, as an incentive, Enemalta is giving a rebate of Lm70 to each household which has solar heating installed, Mr Riolo said there still are no figures regarding how much electricity is saved in these households.
The expert pointed out that such statements are misleading and far from correct.
The people of Malta, he said, are going to suffer more, and cannot continue paying these exorbitant amounts each month.
The installation of solar heating panels would be ideal for Maltese households. In fact, they should have been installed a long time ago, and he cannot understand why no such changes have been made.
An American company called Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) invented the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic manufacturing facility. These are capable of providing 30 million watts per year and providing electricity to 15,000 homes every year. The solar panels are made from PVC. These cells are extremely flexible and lightweight and deliver more energy on cloudy days than conventional cells. Germany is booming with similar solar panels and is currently issuing tenders for their production.
In a letter he received on 14 September, ECD said they were interested in a joint venture with Maltese entrepreneurs. A 50 per cent joint venture agreement would be concluded with the Maltese investor – from the private or public sector – to set up a factory. Such an operation would entail the employment of around 200 people.
The partnership would eventually have access to over 135 patents which ECD could provide and would also provide training for the Maltese scientists, engineers and assistants who would be employed with ECD. This proposal had been put on the table and is currently being discussed.