Solar farm planned for ODZ land in Gozo
Plot covers 27,360 square metres of land, approximately the size of two football pitches
A large piece of agricultural land in Żebbuġ, Gozo - the size of around two football pitches - is set to be transformed into a solar farm.
The planning application (PA/03747/26) for the undeveloped site located on Ta’ Kuljat was filed by Kurt Stephen Galea and architect Edwin Mintoff.
The application was filed earlier this year and is awaiting a recommendation.
If approved, the application will see the installation of “environmentally friendly, ground-mounted” solar panels on a plot that covers 27,360 square metres of land outside the development zone located on Ta’ Kuljat in Żebbuġ.
The application includes the construction of structures to house any necessary services within the complex itself.
The proposed project, showing the solar panels and detailed draws of the transformer room and facility rooms. Photo: PAAccording to the drawings, the application includes the construction of a transformer room, a room which houses electrical equipment used to convert and manage the electricity produced by the solar panels before it is sent to the grid. The development also includes two facility rooms set up next to the transformer room.
The existing rubble walls on the site will be retained.
Regulator for energy and water services has no objection to the development of the electricity generation plants
The regulator for energy and water services has no objection to the development of the electricity generation plants, but reminded the applicant that, as per regulations, any electricity producer should inform the regulator of any electricity generation capacity.
According to the solar farm policy, such farms should not take up virgin or agricultural land, and the policy is against proposals for the development of solar farms in areas where evidence shows that the site, or part of it, was ever registered as agricultural land, garrigue, valleys and areas of archaeological, cultural or scientific interest.
The scale of the vacant plot of landDevelopers had withdrawn a proposal for a massive solar farm in Mġarr in 2023, after it was originally rejected by the PA.
The application was opposed by many residents, who were supported by Din l-Art Ħelwa and Moviment Graffitti, among others.
The development, proposed by Joseph Schembri of Electrofix Group, would have taken up arable land the size of six football pitches.