Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino yesterday said that Malta should take note of the Netherlands’ renewable energy sources if it is to meet its targets of having 10 per cent of its energy supply coming from renewables by the year 2020.

Mr Pullicino was speaking at a seminar yesterday, organised by the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and entitled ‘Doing Business with the Netherlands’, with the minister stressing that energy and environment stand on top of the government’s political agenda.

With the Netherlands considered to be one of the leading countries to invest in research and development, the chamber underlined the opportunities for Maltese businesses to learn a lot from their Dutch counterparts, especially when it comes to investing in renewable energy resources to fight climate change, a thought which was echoed by Minister Pullicino.

“The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) has listed Malta as one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which means that the need to come up with renewable energy resources is more important than ever.

“Even though the country has undergone an economic and social transformation in recent years, Malta does not have the privilege of generating energy from rivers or tides like the Netherlands.

“On the other hand, the country is blessed with sunshine and an all year round mild climate. In the next month the government will issue subsidies to encourage consumers to purchase photovoltaic panels to install on their rooftops. However, it is the government’s responsibility to come up with more eco-friendly measures to enhance the country’s quality of life,” said Mr Pullicino.

The minister added that those businesses which invested significant amounts of money in the past in renewable energy sources are now booming, and are registering successful results year after year.

Helga Ellul, president of the chamber, said that seminars similar to yesterday’s will take place on a regular basis, as companies gather information on the potential of investing in various countries in the EU, increase their awareness and limit the fears of venturing and setting up business abroad.

Yesterday’s seminar delved deep into the renewable energy sources of the Netherlands.

With the Netherlands currently lying in fourth place in the list of European countries with the most patent applications relating to solar energy, the Netherlands’ ambassador to Malta, Robbert J. Gabrielse, said that the Dutch government aims to generate 6,000 MegaWatt (MW) from offshore wind energy by 2020.

The main sources of sustainable energy for domestic consumption in Holland, which account for 75 per cent of the total amount, are the co-combustions of biomass in power stations, wind energy and energy from waste incineration plants.

One of the latest Dutch inventions, in the form of a thermal recovery wheel, is believed to save data centres up to 90 per cent on their cooling costs, as it transports heat to cold outside air, while the Dutch are also leading the way in extracting energy from the sea.

Thanks to the installation of innovative systems which simplify passenger operations and improve the customer’s experience, Amsterdam’s Shiphol Airport recently also won the Airports Council International (ACI) Best Airport Award.

At the same airport, passengers can now have their eyes photographed, with details stored in a card chip so when they depart for their next flight, they can go through passport control without waiting, by means of an automated iris recognition system.