Malta could run out of energy by 2035 if electric vehicle targets are met and offshore plans fail to materialise, experts warn, with a second interconnector not enough to meet the predicted higher demand.
The data, issued by audit firm EY in an analysis, indicates that Malta’s plans to introduce 65,000 electric vehicles on its roads, as outlined in its low-carbon development strategy, will tip the scales beyond its ability to meet energy demands.
Things could escalate even quicker if the second Sicily-Malta interconnector, set to be completed next year, does not come to fruition, with Malta’s energy supply being stretched beyond breaking point by 2030.
At the height of last summer’s power outages, then-Enemalta CEO Jonathan Cardona revealed that peak demand had topped 600 megawatts for the first time on record but remained well below the 830 megawatts that can be generated.
Cut consumption
Reacting to EY’s analysis, former Enemalta chair Robert Ghirlando said Malta urgently needs to up its ability to generate energy to meet the “already critical” peak demand.
Ghirlando, who chaired Enemalta in the late 1990s and throughout the turn of the century, argued that the solution to ensure energy security “lies in a little bit of everything”.
This includes greater investment in renewable sources, as well as upgrading Enemalta’s decades-old power plants to be more efficient.
But, in the meantime, more efforts should be made to encourage people to cut down on consumption and educate them to be more energy efficient, he said.
“How many people know that it’s useless to have photovoltaic panels if you don’t keep them clean? Or that it’s pointless to set your AC below a certain point?
“Ultimately, no politician from either side is going to encourage people to cut down on consumption,” he said.
Ghirlando also recommends removing blanket energy subsidies to minimise excessive consumption, with subsidies directed towards businesses and households that need help.
If Malta builds an offshore windfarm. it will most likely build a large one, capable of generating some 400 or 500 megawatts
Luciano Mulé Stagno, who heads the University of Malta’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, sees renewable energy, combined with technological advancements, as the road towards energy security.
“We need to be aggressive in investing in PVs,” he said, adding there is still ample scope for Malta to up its game in terms of onshore renewables.
But it is the plans for offshore farms (“both a big unknown and a big opportunity”) that Mulé Stagno places most hope in.
“If Malta builds an offshore wind farm it will most likely build a large one, capable of generating some 400 or 500 megawatts,” he says.
Combine this with battery banks and storage facilities and “you can either store the excess energy to meet peak demand, or sell the extra energy abroad,” he argues.
Mulé Stagno admits the cost of batteries remains exorbitant but says their price is dropping rapidly by some 10% each year, “so it could be economically viable by 2030 or so”.
Power households through car’s battery?
When it comes to electric vehicles, he says the authorities should look to incentivise off-peak charging by providing variable tariffs with cheaper rates throughout the night.
Emerging technology could make this even more profitable for households, he says, pointing to how some countries are introducing measures to allow people to power their household through their car’s battery.
“So, you could charge your car at night, when energy demand on the grid is low and tariffs are cheaper, then use excess energy in the battery to power your house during the day.”
Should we be worried about the provision of energy? Yes, but within reason, Mulé Stagno says.
“The path forward is clear. How quickly we get there depends on how well things are managed by the government and the private sector.
We should always be worried about essential services like energy and water but I would be more worried if we didn’t know what the way forward is or if we didn’t have solutions.”