Voluntary organisations have benefited from a quarter of a million euro investment thanks to two schemes issued by the government to enable them to install photovoltaic systems on their property for free.

Through the second call issued by the Ministry for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development, 22 voluntary organisations benefited from an investment of €95,000. Due to the success of these schemes, Minister Miriam Dalli announced that a third scheme will be issued.

During a press conference, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli and Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Recreation and Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima issued contracts to organisation representatives.

With this scheme, these organisations will benefit from reduced utility bills and will be producing cleaner energy.

During the first call, 40 organisations already benefited from this scheme and, due to the demand, a second call was issued, where seven organisations benefitted from twelve panels of 3.6kWp and 15 organisations benefitted from 24 panel systems of 7.2kWp.

Due to the success of the previous call, Minister Miriam Dalli announced that preparations are underway to launch a third call.

Minister Dalli said that; “With this investment, we are investing in clean energy through renewable energy not only to reach the European targets by 2030 of 11.5% generated from renewable sources, but also as the government truly believes in clean energy sources.”

Minister Dalli spoke about how voluntary organisations leave an impact within the local communities. “With this investment, voluntary organisations will be making a positive impact on the environment by operating sustainably.”

When handing out contracts, Parliamentary Secretary Clifton Grima said that, due to these initiatives, there was an increase in more positive outcomes. “This, where the preservation of the environment and other sources within the voluntary sector altogether will result in a more tangible difference in people’s lives.”

The Parliamentary Secretary said that it is refreshing to see that through politics, other sectors are benefitting from these initiatives. Dr Grima mentioned that; “The government is being supportive towards voluntary organisations.” He added that this and other initiatives are assisting voluntary organisations financially, and helping them to  keep doing noble work within the local communities.