NEWS | Sunday, 15 July 2007

Carmen Sant’s wind turbine ‘helps the world’ but angers neighbours in Marsascala

By James Debono
Carmen Sant, widow of the late Lorry Sant, has done her bit to “help the world” by installing a 15-metre high wind turbine next to her villa. Although turbine is already fully operational, it still lacks a full planning permit. And far from solving the global warming issue, Sant’s green initiative has elicited a heated reaction from residents in the area.
The wind turbine stands in the garden of Sant’s villa on the Marsascala foreshore, and is the first of its size installed next to a private home. “My aim is to help the world in the view of global warming,” the former Labour MP told MaltaToday.
Sant also wants to help the government achieve the target of generating five per cent of its energy from renewables, Sant told MaltaToday.
Wife of the late Minister known for opening the floodgates of development for land speculation, Carmen Sant is herself renowned for her love of animals and the environment. She doubts whether she will ever recover the costs of the turbine by supplying energy to the national grid, but she is willing to pay to do her bit to save the world. The late minister’s wife has already gone solar by installing a photovoltaic plant on her roof.
But the former MP’s fondness for the environment does not translate into respect for the country’s planning regulations.
MEPA insists that before any excavation takes place, the developer has to inform the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage and the Environment Protection Directorate. But MEPA has now found itself setting conditions for an already installed turbine.
Sant acknowledges that the turbine lacks a full permit. “MEPA gave me the impression they will approve the wind turbine by December. Therefore I ordered the equipment to arrive by the end of the year.”
The case officer report is recommending an approval of this application. MEPA is considering Carmen Sant’s application as “a test case” as no policy currently regulates the installation of such turbines. In assessing Sant’s application, MEPA is consulting British Planning Guidance Notes on renewable energy.
Residents are angry that MEPA is considering the application in the absence of a policy regulating this development. They insist that Sant’s wind farm is not a micro turbine but a commercial wind firm.
“MEPA should not give similar permits before setting a policy for this kind of development which according to our knowledge should be located offshore,” a resident told MaltaToday.
In a strongly letter sent to MEPA the residents contend it is impossible to sleep with windows open during the hot summer nights.
“Should MEPA really approve such a monstrosity then many of the residents in this area cannot see why we should suffer such noise and ugliness for somebody else to save on the electricity bill, therefore we shall install similar units so that at least we will get something back for our suffering. MEPA cannot refuse us this. What’s more, this precedent also confirms that we can install prior to having a permit,” the letter said.
MEPA had requested a report to measure the expected noise levels. According to the report, from a distance of 25 metres the background noise was louder than that emitted by the turbine. When setting the conditions for approval, MEPA insists that the maximum noise level from the nearest residence should not exceed 50db – the noise emitted by moderate rainfall.
Yet residents cite data supplied by wind farm manufacturers showing that similar models produce 65db – the noise emitted by a washing machine or a dishwasher.
Sant denies that her wind turbine is causing any noise and claims most residents had welcomed the development. But a resident whose bedroom faces the turbine, claims that he has to put up with the summer heat as he cannot sleep without closing the windows.
Although the level of energy output of Sant’s turbine is considered small, according to MEPA small scale projects have a valuable contribution to the overall outputs of renewable energy and will help in reaching the national targets on alternative sources of energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
The Malta Resources Authority is currently proposing amendments to regulation to permit to increase the limit on small-scale plants from 3.7kWp to 10 kWp to facilitate the development of similar plants.