Editorial | Wednesday, 22 October 2008

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Gone with the wind

Addressing the Nationalist Party general council on Sunday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi claimed that his government had “never retracted any proposal in the face of national challenges.”
Dr Gonzi was reacting to calls made by Opposition leader Joseph Muscat to renege on his government’s proposals for revised energy tariffs. But behind the PM’s feigned bravado, there was a discernable hint of apprehension.
Leaving aside the immediate objection that his government has, in fact, withdrawn a number of proposals over the years – the Xaghra l-Hamra golf course being a prime example – it remains a fact that energy production and management is among the country’s most pressing and urgent problems, and it is clear from even a cursory glance that Malta is unprepared for the really serious challenges ahead.
So far, the government’s attitude towards renewable energy has been at best ambivalent, at worst downright contradictory.
After excluding land-based and near-shore wind farms for two years, the government has suddenly dropped its veto against the latter by proposing a €130 million wind farm at Is-Sikka l-Bajda (a reef some two kilometres to the northeast of St Paul’s Bay), and by stating that land-based wind farms will be considered after all.
It is not yet clear on the basis of which document or whose advice the government has changed its policy. But although it is positive that the government has given up on an inexistent technology to develop wind farms in deep water – a doomed proposal which caused a two-year delay – the government should at least publish any studies commissioned to justify this latest U-turn.
One hopes that the change in policy forms part of a holistic strategy, and is not simply a knee jerk reaction to the European Union’s imposition of emission targets by 2020. But all the evidence unfortunately points in the opposite direction.
So far, the government’s attitude betrays the lack of a consistent energy policy which could guide the country towards responsible energy decisions. The fact that energy policy falls under three separate ministries does not help in the formulation of a clear road map for energy use in Malta.
In the current set-up, the Prime Minister is responsible for Malta’s adherence to emission targets set by the European Union – which involve increasing our share of renewable energy from the current 0.02%, to 20% by 2020 – because this matter falls under the responsibility of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
Resources Minister George Pullicino is responsible for the Resources Authority, whose task is to regulate the provision of energy and to safeguard vital resources like Malta’s ground water supply.
On the other hand, Enemalta and its foremost client, the Water Services Corporation – which uses electricity to operate its reverse osmosis plants – fall under Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt.
One could well argue that Malta would fare better if it had one Energy Minister responsible for all three tasks. But this could to be a pitfall, as it could erode the distinction between the regulator and the operator.
What’s certain, however, is that Malta urgently needs a single energy and water policy, which includes a clear policy on reducing carbon emissions, the enforcement of energy efficiency regulations and the development of alternative sources of energy.
With the EU setting stricter targets on emissions at a time when Malta’s energy consumption is set to rise because of major projects like Smart City, the need for such a plan is becoming more pressing.
Surely, one durable solution would be that of laying the Malta/Sicily cable to connect Malta to the European energy grid.
But this alone would not solve the country’s energy problems, as Malta would still have to fork out money to buy electricity from the mainland.
Malta’s energy road map cannot ignore the fact that water production is one of the top consumers of energy. To this end, the re-use of storm water and water processed by waste treatment plants should be an integral part of a policy aimed at reducing energy consumption by reverse osmosis plants.
Ensuring that mega projects like Smart City and MIDI commit themselves to the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures should also be part of this strategy.
It is incredible that Malta will be taking major decisions on the development of a storm water master plan, as well as the construction of the South Malta waste water plant, in the absence of any policy on how to re-use this much-needed supply of water.
So far, the government of Malta has adopted a haphazard and piecemeal approach to these vital issues. We would do better to start working instead on a really “smart” holistic energy plan, aimed not only at reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, but also at educating the people to become more energy-conscious.

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