The harvesting of renewable energy from grid-connected photovoltaic systems increased by 20.5% over the previous year in 2020 and was estimated at 233.1 gigawatt hours, the National Statistics Office said. 

According to NSO data, there were 29,339 PV panel installations in the country that year, with 85% of those in Malta and the other 15% in Gozo and Comino.  

When compared to 2019, the stock of PV installations increased by 6.8%. 

The domestic sector accounted for 93.6% of the total stock of PV installations, followed by the commercial and public sectors, accounting for 5.5% and 0.9% respectively. 

The Northern Harbour district - Birkirkara, Gżira, Ħamrun, Msida, Pembroke, Pietà, Qormi, St Julian's, San Ġwann, Santa Venera, Sliema, Swieqi and Ta' Xbiex - had the highest number of domestic PV installations, with 5,314. 

In terms of installation density, however, the Northern Harbour district emerges bottom of the pack, with 31 domestic installations of PV panels per 1,000 people. 

Gozo and Comino emerge top, with an average of 119 installations per 1,000. 

The peak power rating of the average domestic PV panel system stood at 3.1 kilowatts peak, compared to 57.7kWp for commercial sectors and 20.6kWp for public ones.