The search for suitable sites for wind farms in Malta's Exclusive Economic Zone has been narrowed to two from an initial six, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli told parliament on Monday.

Speaking in reply to a question by Nationalist MP Rebekah Borg, the minister said preparatory work for a call for investment in offshore windfarms was continuing.

After the identification of six sites in the National Policy for the Deployment of Offshore Renewable Energy, technical experts conducted desktop studies to determine their technical and economic viability with the least environmental impact. Various issues were factored in, including the suitability of the available technology on the basis of the depth of the sea.

The sites had been shortlisted and, after a call for tender, one would be used for wind energy. The results of geophysical studies would be attached to the call for tenders.

The minister did not say where the shortlisted sites are located but said further on-site studies would be needed to reduce technical risks and uncertainties. 

The six sites off Malta identified last year. They have since been reduced to two.

Dalli said Enemalta and Interconnect Malta were collaborating to ensure that the public infrastructure needed for these projects would be ready on time so that power generated from the offshore facilities could be distributed on the power grid. 

The Energy Ministry last year said six international companies in the offshore wind business have shown an interest in Malta’s offshore renewable energy policy.

They were among 64 entities and individuals who submitted their views on the National Policy for the Development of Offshore Renewable Energy when it was open to the public for consultation.

Malta’s first-ever national policy for offshore renewable energy was announced in August last year, with plans to have the first wind or solar floating farms located between 12 and 25 nautical miles off Malta. 

Dalli told Times of Malta last Sunday that while the government would kick off the wind farms' expression of interest process in the coming weeks, this would take time, which was why the government had issued a separate, pre-market consultation for near-shore solar panels. 

The wind vanes are expected to start turning in 2030 and the wind farm would generate 300 megawatts. By comparison, the interconnector generates 200 megawatts, and the two LNG plants generate 200 and 150 megawatts.

"But we also need to make sure that when there’s no wind, we still don’t stop generating energy, which is why we are complementing it with solar farms," Dalli said.