Friends of the Earth Malta demands transparency on energy generation plans following reports in the media on the future of wind energy generation. This is of utmost significance especially in the light of recent Eurostat statistics which puts Malta at the bottom of the EU list when it comes to renewable energy production.
Friends of the Earth Malta also questions the ministerial statement which asserts – in the absence of any substantial detail — that Malta will reach the projected renewable energy sources share for 2014 by using photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal (a contribution not easily assessed) and biofuels. This statement in turn raises further questions on the current PV production and on the likely limits on area – including possible marine areas – available for PV.
The ministerial statement also mentions biofuels as one of the sources, though there is no mention of RE from waste, where production suffered a serious setback with the Sant’Antnin Waste Treatment Plant failure. Friends of the Earth Malta is against any use of agrofuels, unless these come from sustainable sources such as used cooking oil. The production of agrofuels has potentially far-reaching social and environmental impacts, and raises urgent questions about whether they are an effective or economical way of helping to combat climate change. Their rapid development and promotion has resulted in a number of high level warnings about their global implications for the environment, food security and economy. Only last month the EU energy ministers voted to limit biofuels in an attempt to prevent biofuels competing with food and causing deforestation.
After all the time and resources spent on wind energy studies, the public deserves to know what the realistic prospects for onshore and offshore wind turbines are. It is high time that government takes the renewable energy targets seriously and lift Malta up from the bottom spot of the European charts.