Malta harvested 155.3 gigawatt hours of electricity through grid-connected photovoltaic systems in 2017, a 22.1 per cent increase on the previous year, with new installations of PV panels up by 13.3 per cent that year.

Practically all that electricity, 94 per cent, came from domestic PV panels, according to a National Statistics Office press release. The commercial sector generated 4.9 per cent of all grid-connected solar power electricity, with the public sector contributing 1.1 per cent.

One gigawatt hour is equivalent to 1,000 megawatt hours. 

The increase in PV electricity generation comes as welcome news to the government, which is struggling to reach its EU-mandated renewable energy targets. 

Geographical distribution

In absolute terms, the Northern Harbour district had the highest stock of PV installations in both domestic and commercial sectors, with 4,144 and 216 respectively.

Conversely, the Southern Harbour district had the fewest PV panels installed – 2,639 domestic and 156 commercial. The district appears to be catching up with the rest, however, with a 16.4 per cent increase in installations in 2017 making it the fastest-growing region for PV power in the country.

While the Northern Harbour district has the highest total number of PV panels, it comes in dead last when calculating the number of PV installations on a per capita basis, with just 29 PV panels for every 1,000 residents.

Residents of Gozo and Comino are the most PV panel-eager, on the other hand, with 104 domestic installation for every 1,000 residents. That ratio is far higher than in any other district, with the Western District coming in second with a ratio of 65 PV panels for every 1,000 people.