Maltese opposition criticises over-reliance on wind power - report

Oct 9, 2012 - Leo Brincat, the Maltese Labour party’s spokesman for environmental issues, has voiced criticism over the government’s over-reliance on wind power, Malta Today said on Tuesday.

The latest outburst of criticism from the opposition comes after a recent announcement of the future development of a floating wind farm that would cost EUR 15 million (USD 19m).

Brincat was very critical towards the government’s failure to explain the reason for choosing to rely on wind power for some 40% of the country’s alternative energy target. He also demanded a disclosure by the government on the amount of electricity the planned offshore floating turbine would generate and on whether the EUR-15-million expenditure had already been approved.

Furthermore, according to Brincat the government has failed to achieve the target of generating 10% of the country’s electricity from renewable sources. He said that the government has not yet provided unequivocal proof of whether it had reached the 2% alternative energy target for 2011.

The ministry said earlier that although wind power was part of Malta's plan to achieve the 10% share of clean energy in total generation, other sources such as solar and waste were also playing a role. A spokesman of the ministry of resource and rural affairs was quoted as saying that the target set for solar energy for 2012 had already been exceeded and that electricity was already being produced by waste.

However, Brincat dismissed the ministry's statement, arguing that the country was at least eight years away from achieving the 10% alternative energy goal.

(EUR 1 = USD 1.293)

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