Enemalta Corporation will be conducting a pilot project on a small wind turbine this summer, Enemalta chairman Alex Tranter announced yesterday.
Ing. Tranter was speaking at a media conference regarding the corporation’s 30th anniversary activities that will be held over the next five months.
The three kilowatt turbine will be set up on a five-metre pole at the Vendomme Distribution Centre in Marfa and will have the capacity to generate electricity to supply an average household. Ing. Tranter said that the wind turbine plan was intended as a means of studying possibilities for the use of electricity generated from wind energy in Malta.
He said that throughout the experiment, the corporation would be particularly studying seasonal changes to see whether it would be worthwhile investing in such a system on a larger scale.
Alongside this project, this summer Enemalta is also expected to set up its second photovoltaic (PV) installation on the roof of the corporation’s Qawra district office.
Earlier this month, Enemalta inaugurated the first PV system at the Sliema district office in Kappara, which has the capacity to generate enough electricity to supply an average household on a sunny day.
Enemalta has since been monitoring various environmental aspects such as temperature, wind speed, and humidity so as to clearly analyse the performance of the system.
Ing. Tranter spoke about Enemalta’s progress since it was established on 30 September 1977 and mentioned some major energy milestones, such as the installation of the first 33 kilovolt submarine cable between Malta and Gozo in 1971.
Major projects that Enemalta will be undertaking include the connection of the Maltese grid to the Sicilian one, in turn linking Malta to the European electricity grid.
This will be a very interesting development for Enemalta and will make it possible for the country to be able to purchase electricity from other European countries, said Ing. Tranter, adding that this development will also allow for competition with regard to the generation of electricity.
He said this project will definitely have to be up and running by 2012, when, according to EU regulations, the old Marsa power station will have to be turned off.
Asked about the liberalisation of electricity generation, the chairman said that Enemalta’s total control of the island’s electricity grid has been confirmed by the derogation that the government had negotiated with the EU.
The corporation faced a number of challenges and Ing. Tranter said it was committed to implementing measures in favour of the environment.
He said one of the major challenges would be to increase the capacity of generation, particularly due to a number of new developments like SmartCity Malta and Pender Gardens.
He mentioned, among others, a call for expressions of interest for a project involving an investment of Lm40 million for a 120 megawatt generation plant in Delimara, and the corporation has also started work on three big distribution centres to reinforce the Kappara area.
A full programme of activities has been prepared to mark the corporation’s 30th anniversary. These include a tree-planting ceremony, as well as a competition for school children related to energy.
Ing. Tranter also mentioned that forthcoming activities would include summer sport-days and outings for employees and their families, an open week for students and the public in May, as well as the launch of a communications campaign in June.
The objective of the campaign would be to generate awareness of the role that Enemalta played in day-to-day life, while also communicating the basics of how the corporation functioned.
Ing. Tranter said: “The various anniversary events we have planned over the next few months will seek to raise public awareness on the corporation’s production capabilities, its energy conservation initiatives, its human resource capabilities and its strategic vision.”